Tav is determined not to go 10 Old Firm games without another victory
James Tavernier is about to take part in his 11th Old Firm match. The Rangers defender won his first game against Celtic – the 2016 Scottish Cup semi-final.
He’s been involved in another nine Glasgow derbies since then, but is still waiting for another victory.
Many players would be hugely discouraged by that run of results and fear the prospect of going 10 games without a win.
Tavernier, however, maintains he can’t get enough of playing Celtic.
The 26-year-old insists he thrives on the anticipation of taking part in this fixture, and can’t wait for today’s Scottish Cup semi-final at Hampden to get under way.
He said: “If I could, I’d play an Old Firm game every week – that’s what I’d love to do.
“There’s obviously a little bit of nerves, maybe the night before, but nothing massive, nothing that keeps me up.
“It’s just excitement to get on that pitch.
“You can’t wait for the game to come, even from the start of the week.
“Once we had played Dundee last Saturday, we had a week to prepare for Celtic and we couldn’t wait for this day to come.
“I always look forward to these matches. It’s one of the reasons I came here.
“The preparation is straightforward. It’s just like any other team. You have to prepare properly and make sure you get it right on the day.
“I’ve never gone into a game thinking we’re going to lose it.
“That’s not the mentality I’ve got and I don’t believe it’s there with any of the other boys – they wouldn’t be at Rangers otherwise.
“It comes down to getting small details right on the day – and avoiding mistakes.
“I probably haven’t been involved in such a long run without success against a team. But recently it’s been better because of the way we’ve played and we’ve shown what we can do.”
Tavernier has been with Rangers for nearly three years now, and has seen plenty of change in that time. Two managers and countless team-mates have left the club. He’s one of only six players surviving from the squad that beat Celtic on penalties two years ago.
There have been lots of changes at Ibrox, but also one massively significant one at Parkhead. Brendan Rodgers’ arrival at Celtic sparked off incredible success and a season where the Hoops were invincible in domestic competition. Tavernier believes the gap between the great rivals is closing all the time.
He went on: “Brendan Rodgers came in and he’s had some time to improve their team.
“We have gone through different managers, but Graeme Murty has laid a good foundation for us. “He has brought in great additions to the squad and we’ve got stronger. That gap has got very, very close now.
“You could possibly say winning today would be bigger than my first game against Celtic, because of the changes since Brendan Rodgers arrived. “We were in the Championship when we won in 2016, and it was the first time playing Celtic for a while.
“We definitely want to win for the manager and we’d love to do it for the fans, as well because I know they’ve been waiting for a win for a while.
“Everyone has been waiting for a win.
“I’m honoured to have been made captain and to lead the boys out in games.
“If I get the captaincy this weekend, it’s another huge honour.
“I’ve had a great relationship with the gaffer since he came in.” Celtic skipper Scott Brown claimed the Hoops have got inside their rivals’ heads.
He believes Rangers will be struggling to overcome the memory of losing the last Old Firm game, despite facing 10 men for the last half-an-hour.
Tavernier, quickly dismisses the suggestion of mental weakness in the Light Blue ranks.
His analysis of last month’s defeat is clear. The Englishman says it’s all about what Rangers do during the 90 minutes that makes the difference.
He said: “In the last game, it was down to mistakes that cost us the goals.
“If we nullify these mistakes, keep it tight at the back and don’t concede, we are going to create chances.
“We can take positives and negatives from that Ibrox game, but I think we are on the right path. “We feel mentally tough. We know we have a great group of lads who can bounce back.
“All the boys are raring to go for this game.
“It’s a semi-final and we want to win. We want to win every Old Firm game. Nothing changes.”