Brendan Rodgers Accusations of disrespect towards Gers are completely baseless, blasts Rodgers

CELTIC manager Brendan Rodgers claims accusations he showed disrespect towards Rangers are “without merit”.

Rodgers sparked a reaction from Rangers boss Philippe Clement as he looked towards today’s derby clash between their teams in the wake of Celtic’s 3-0 victory over Hearts last weekend.

The Celtic boss declared his side “can have a bit of fun” after stressing they would take nothing for granted in the title race, keep their composure, work hard and prepare their plan.

After Rangers cut the gap at the top of the cinch Premiership back to three points and five goals with a 4-1 victory over Kilmarnock 24 hours later, Clement said: “That it is something that I would never say about an opponent. It’s not really respectful towards my team.”

Those comments surprised Rodgers, who said: “I think anyone who was at my press conference would have sensed the way in which it was said.

“The reaction to that is totally without merit. It has no context whatsoever.

“You mention my past record in these games, I have never referred to these other than being intense, being competitive.

“We never talk about the game as that, but we talk about the whole occasion.

“The occasion is one of the most iconic games in world football.

“And I love it. It’s one of the reasons I am here, the great pride and privilege I have in

managing Celtic in a Rangers game.

“So, the whole emotion, the whole feeling around this game is absolutely amazing.

“I have seen some of the headlines around the ‘disrespect’ and whatever else, but it is totally without merit.

“It was never in that context being said, and I never would be that person to disrespect another manager or another team. But I suppose it’s part of the build-up for you guys.”

Meanwhile, Callum Mcgregor laughed off claims from Rangers rival Todd Cantwell that his desire outweighs the Celtic captain.

Mcgregor was given a blunt injury prognosis in March when an Achilles problem flared up.

After sitting out the March fixtures, Mcgregor returned off the bench in a 3-3 draw at Ibrox five weeks ago and has built up his fitness to play 89 minutes of last Saturday’s win over Hearts.

The Gers midfielder pushed the Celtic skipper after the fulltime whistle last month and later claimed: “I want to win just as much as he does — probably a little bit more.”

Mcgregor smiled when told of that statement and added: “If that’s his opinion, then good for him.”

Just how much Mcgregor wants to win is evident from his reaction to his injury news.

“With where we were in the season, we had a chat as a group, and there was just no way that you were going to sit out and watch the whole thing unfold. I would rather be in there and fighting with the lads,” he said.