‘OLD FIRM DEFEATS WILL HAVE SCARRED RANGERS’

Rangers players will be scarred by defeats SAYS BRENDAN RODGERS

BRENDAN RODGERS insists Celtic’s recent domination of Rangers will have scarred the minds of the Ibrox players.

The Northern Irishman takes his side across the city for the lunchtime league encounter having won five and drawn one of last term’s six clashes.

Huge personnel changes over the summer plus injuries are likely to see Rangers boss Pedro Caixinha field a side packed with Old Firm debutants.

Rodgers, though, feels his team’s emphatic recent record in the fixture will hang heavy over any selection the Portuguese puts together.

‘It’s a new team,’ Rodgers said of his opponents. ‘In fairness to Pedro, for whatever reason he’s not liked what he’s seen in the group.

‘He’s gone out and been backed really well by the board to bring in players of substance and quality. So, it’s a lot of change there.

‘But there will still be scars there. There’s no question about that.

‘But it’s a new season, it’s only the beginning. So, the game should be a great one, like they always are. There

will also be players experiencing it for the first time.’

Descending on Ibrox on the back of a 56-game unbeaten domestic run and with no such selection problems, Rodgers feels his players have every right to possess a highly-optimistic frame of mind.

While the Celtic manager believes the painful memory of five of last season’s derby clashes may hinder the home side, he feels the reverse should be true of his charges.

‘They all count but this is a different game, a different season,’ he added. ‘But if you’ve played six games and beaten an opponent five times and drawn one and been really convincing in a number of those games, then it’s hard not to feel something.

‘It’s only natural. Players are only human. In that type of scenario after the third or fourth game there’s a feeling.’

Caixinha’s first full season in charge has been accompanied by a noticeably less bullish narrative from the Ibrox club.

This time last year, under Mark Warburton, Rangers were happy to voice the belief they were ‘Going for 55’ — only to end up 39 points behind their great rivals in the final reckoning.

After such a chastening experience, Rodgers feels it’s no coincidence such bold proclamations are no longer heard in public.

‘I don’t hear so much,’ he reflected. ‘That was something that was apparent when I came in. For everyone, it was. I certainly think the noise is different.

‘Whatever the noise comes out, that’s up to them. Our focus has purely been on Celtic really. (But) it’s certainly not as apparent.

‘They have had good players coming in, they know where they’re at and they know they want to be better. It’s still very early in the season. They will want to work well and get a result too.’ Still to suffer a domestic reverse after 16 months in the Celtic job, Rodgers feels his squad has progressed to a level where they don’t necessarily have to deliver a perfect performance to win a game.

‘I think the beauty of this group, and what they’ve been able to foster, is that they don’t necessarily have to be 10 out of 10 every week,’ he explained.

‘It’s very difficult to play perfect football. But we have a game that allows us to be defensively strong, aggressive.

‘And what we’ve developed, cultivated over the last 16 months is the ability for lots of players to be able to score goals.

‘So we can be a real threat going forward, good speed, good movement, good technique.

‘Then you align that with a real work ethic and a fitness level — that makes us a difficult opponent.

‘But, yes, we have to bring all of that to games as often as we can and, hopefully, it gets us a result.’

Last season’s clashes saw the dark underbelly of the Old Firm fixture come back to the fore.

Celtic’s 5-1 win at Celtic Park last September was marred by several home supporters hanging effigies from the roof of the stands, while Scott Sinclair was racially abused in the sixth and final match at Ibrox.

Rodgers’ fervent hope is that come full-time today the sole focus will be on matters on the park.

‘I would hope so,’ he said. ‘There seems to be elements of that up here that, I’ve got to say surprised me, to be honest.

‘It’s not what anyone wants to see in society now, where you’d like to have thought that sort of discrimination is not there, especially in sport.

‘The games are great. They’re passionate, so just keep them that way and above board.’