Father’s sway for Graeme
Graeme Murty is hoping to turn his Celtic-daft dad into a Gers fan for a day with a win to make him proud.
The Ibrox boss is chasing Rangers’ first league win over the champions since their top-f light return as they bid to narrow the gap at the top to three points.
The 43-year-old hopes to have injury doubts Jamie Murphy, Russell Martin and Sean Goss fit. And he insists it would be the crowning glory of his career if they pulled it off – with nobody prouder than old man Eddie.
Murty said: “My old man supports Celtic so he was keeping me abreast of what was happening at Rangers when I was down south.
“But he’s keeping a low prof i le at the moment because he is a Graeme
Murty fan first and foremost.
“Should we win on Sunday he will be on the phone offering me congratulations – no doubt to the annoyance of his family!
“He critiques everything I do wrong on a weekly basis. He tells me about my team selection and thinks he knows better than me.
“But he’s a supportive guy in everything I’ve ever tried to do.”
Celtic are still odds-on favourites for this afternoon’s trip to Ibrox and to land their seventh title in a row.
And Murty insists the fact Gers have only just managed to string six wins together for the first time since returning to the top flight shows they still have miles to go.
He said: “That shows the journey we’ve been on in comparison to them and it shows the distance we still have to go. The game will be a good test of where we are.
“We shouldn’t forget the distance this football club has had to come to make sure these games are now meaningful.
“Will a win show we’re back? I still think we have a way to go. Talk of us being back is premature.
“We have to put a consistency together for us to do that. But the strides we have made have been positive.”
The former Scotland full-back is under no illusion about the impact a win will have today.
He admitted: “This would be one of the best moments of my career.
“What I’ve tried to do in my second stint is try not to get too high or too low. We can’t get carried away with one result.
“When I first did the job people were talking about six, seven, eight-nil at Parkhead.
“We’re not talking about that now. It’s about us going toe to toe.
“We have to be tighter because they have good players who can hurt us if we allow them.”