ANGE: I FULLY UNDERSTAND THE OLD FIRM SIGNIFICANCE
CELTIC boss Ange Postecoglou knows the significance of today’s Old Firm fixture given the excitement felt by emigrant Scots in his home country.
The Greek-born Australian knows he and his players are carrying the hopes of many thousands.
Postecoglou has been charged with restoring the Hoops’ dominance after a barren campaign.
The rivalry was as intense as ever last season as Rangers stopped Celtic winning a Scottish-record 10thconsecutive title.
But Celtic fans have been hugely encouraged by their side’s recent run of form, scoring 24 goals in six consecutive wins before qualifying for the Europa League despite defeat by AZ Alkmaar.
Postecoglou said: “Obviously each derby game has its own significance.
“This one has worldwide significance in that it’s one of the most famous fixtures globally. So you understand the significance of it.
“Whilst as a manager sometimes you say, ‘It’s just another game’, well this is not, because of what it means, particularly to our supporters, and what it means to this football club.
“It’s a big game, it’s one of the fixtures you look forward to every year. It’s going to be a cracking atmosphere and it’s what we want to be involved in.
“We want to be involved in big games where there’s extra significance to the result and that will certainly be the case.”
The 56-year-old added: “It’s a big fixture in Oz and many pubs across the country, if they weren’t in lockdown at the moment, in most of the major cities there, the pubs around midnight usually get fairly busy with interest on both sides of the camp.
“It’s not lost, the significance of this fixture for me, because, growing up in Australia, there are a couple of games every year from around the world that everyone tuned into, and this was certainly one of them.”
Covid-19 will have an impact on the game itself at Ibrox.
Rangers suffered an outbreak last week which saw Steven Gerrard and several players miss their Europa League trip to Armenia, although it’s unclear whether any of them will return today.
Postecoglou added: “Whatever the line-up is they’re going to be a formidable opponent.
“If you start thinking it’s going to be somewhat of an easy game because of any disruptions they had, or disruptions we might have, you fall in a false trap.”