To send out at Parkhead
end and my team’s no good because we’ve failed the acid test.”
The idea of Gerrard as being an innocent when it comes to big matches must be resisted, of course. As totemic a clash as tomorrow’s encounter appears to be, it isn’t any bigger than a Champions League final. And it should be pointed out that Gerrard isn’t entirely a novice when it comes to this match. One of a job lot of curious Premier League superstars who have made the day trip up to take in this match, he has been in attendance “three or four” times, including once at Celtic Park.
“I’ve been to one at Celtic Park and a couple at Ibrox I think,” said Gerrard. “And it’s always the atmosphere that stands out. Both sets of supporters get right behind the team. From a neutral point of view, when I went up to enjoy the game and the occasion the first thing that smacks you in the face is the noise and the atmosphere, especially from the beginning. It’s a game that I’ve always tried to catch on TV if I couldn’t get up to it. It’s a game that’s obviously renowned throughout the world and for me it’s a great experience to be part of my first one.”
The 38-year-old admits that pre-match nerves are all part of the package with matches like this, but warns his team – currently averaging one sending off every three games – that they must tread a fine line in order to play with aggression but not indiscipline. He didn’t always heed his own advice in these matches, notably sent off even as a veteran player for a foul on Juan Mata just seconds after coming of the bench for his final outing in the Manchester United-Liverpool grudge match.
“I used to get excited,” he said. “I suppose there’s some nerves within that. It’s good to be nervous and up for it. But in these games it is important to get the balance right and make sure you try and find your best performance without it spilling over. We have already been guilty of losing men too early in games and people going over the edge and not helping the team. I reiterate the message how important it is for us to play on the edge and try and find our top performance collectively and individually but try and stay on the pitch.”
If Celtic away is the acid test, plenty of other Rangers sides in recent history, of course, have failed precisely that test. Teams from Govan have lost nine and drawn two of the Old Firm matches since Rodgers’ arrival, although the two clubs could hardly be said to have occupied a level playing field. With a severely reduced away support in the East End of Glasgow for the game, Celtic again will start favourites, but Gerrard feels his team are “a different squad mentally and physically since the team that last went from here to face the acid test”.
He won’t stress his side’s poor recent record to his players, and doesn’t buy in either to the notion that Celtic are somehow going into the match in disarray.
“They’ve got good players in all different kinds of positions,” he said. “It’s a huge game for them, just as it is for us, so we don’t expect a weak Celtic team or a Celtic team that’s going to lie down. We wait to see the team sheet come in. If there is no Dembele, there’s no Dembele. But we’ll prepare for a good Celtic team. I think it would be very naïve of us to underestimate the challenge and the personnel they’ve got.”