The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Gers follow advice for Old Firm clash
Rangers will have to take Covid-19 guidance before they know who will be available for tomorrow’s Old Firm clash against Celtic at Ibrox, according to Gary McAllister.
An outbreak of the virus struck the Govan club ahead of the trip to play Alashkert in their successful Europa League qualifying play-off on Thursday.
Manager Steven Gerrard did not travel to Armenia along with Allan McGregor, Jon McLaughlin, James Tavernier, Scott Wright, Calvin Bassey and Ryan Kent although it is unclear who at the club returned the positive tests and who were close contacts.
Kemar Roofe and John Lundstram were suspended.
Before learning that Rangers had been drawn alongside Lyon, Sparta Prague and Brondby in Europa League Group A, assistant manager McAllister said: “On the Covid issues we are guided by doctors and by the governing bodies.
“We adapt day by day to see who is available and who is not. That’s all we can do.
“Come tomorrow, we’ll be given a squad of people who are available and we will deal with it.
“The same goes for everybody (including the manager), we’re just guided by doctors and governing bodies.”
McAllister was glad to report no fresh injuries from the goalless draw in Armenia which took the Scottish champions through 1-0 on aggregate.
He said: “Everybody came through unscathed.
“Scotty Arfield took a couple of blows on his toe, he took one early in the game and got it smashed later in the game but after the game he’s reported fine.
“So everyone came through unscathed and obviously we’ve got people coming back from suspension.
“Non-squad players that didn’t travel will come into the reckoning as well so that’s Juninho Bacuna, Brandon Barker and Nikola Katic. It means we’re bolstered and we’ve got a wee bit more bodies in the squad.
“It has been a tough three or four days, if we all can come together we can hopefully get a result.”
Meanwhile, Ange Postecoglou sees the trip to Ibrox as a great chance to establish the style of football his Celtic team are developing.
The Hoops have grown in confidence since Postecoglou suffered defeat against Hearts and a Champions League exit in his first three games.
Celtic have been helped by new arrivals and by adapting to Postecoglou’s attacking philosophy.
After scoring 24 goals in six successive wins, they came through in Holland on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat which saw them into the Europa League group stage.
Another major test awaits tomorrow against the champions but Postecoglou stressed the game would not decide anything.
“It’s August,” he said. “I know people like putting defining moments in at all different times. There will be defining moments all throughout the season.
“What’s important is we have had a really positive month so far and in terms of improvement in our performances and getting reward for that. Tomorrow is another opportunity for us to build on that momentum.
“There is still a hell of a lot of football still to be played. And from our perspective, either way, we are not going to get too carried away with whatever the outcome is.”
Croatia right-back Josip Juranovic could make his Hoops debut at Ibrox while James McCarthy and James Forrest are pushing for fitness after missing the Dutch trip.