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Rangers are powerless to stop Celts, says Gordon
CRAIG GORDON has warned Rangers they’ll be powerless to prevent Celtic winning today’s Old Firm clash if the champions play to their full capacity.
The Ibrox side have failed to beat Brendan Rodgers’ men in seven attempts across all competitions — with their only draw coming during Graeme Murty’s first spell as interim boss in March.
Gordon believes Celtic got what they deserved that day for failing to hit their normal heights while Rangers played to their optimum level.
But the Celtic keeper believes a collective will to ensure there’s no repeat of that display will go a long way to clinching another victory for the hot favourites.
‘We didn’t play particularly well in that game and I think they did,’ he recalled. ‘It shows that on any given day you can go close to getting beaten by anybody. We didn’t play to our standards and nearly got caught out.
‘It’s a reminder of what can happen if we drop a level. We know if we play to the best of our ability we’ll win.’
Another win for Celtic would extend the gap between the Glasgow rivals to 14 points with just 16 games remaining.
The question for Rangers today is if they have the mental wherewithal to banish all that has gone before and live in the moment.
Brendan Rodgers, however, believes such a psychological contrivance would be no mean feat. The shadow of the Celtic manager’s record in the fixture is simply impossible to shift.
‘If you’ve played a team seven times, lost six and got away with a draw in the other one, then you can probably never admit it — but there’s no doubt that, subconsciously, there will be an eerie feeling,’ he said.
‘It’s difficult, but every game offers an opportunity. We never feel, just because we’ve played well and won most of our games against them, that we can take anything for granted.
‘We have to be really hungry for success every time we play.’
Were his team to engage the high levels seen in the majority of those recent clashes, though, Rangers will have to produce something extraordinary to prevail. ‘I never think about it that way,’ said the Celtic manager about the past matches. ‘I just think about the forthcoming game.’
Rodgers welcomes Scott Sinclair back into his squad, while Jonny Hayes embarks on his recovery from a broken leg.
‘Scott is fit,’ said Rodgers. ‘He’s trained. It’s bitterly disappointing for Jonny because he’s settled in, started to show what he can do and started the game against Dundee the other day really well.’
With the transfer window opening next week, Rodgers might well have new faces on board for the training camp besides defender Marvin Compper.
Celtic stand to make around £7.5million thanks to Virgil van Dijk’s move from Southampton to Liverpool but Rodgers isn’t aware if that windfall will directly affect him so soon.
‘It hasn’t been mentioned as yet,’ he said. ‘It hasn’t gone through yet. Don’t spend it until it’s in the bank! But it’s great for him and playing for a club like Celtic will prepare him for Liverpool.’