Rodgers is ignoring Ibrox noise
BRENDAN RODGERS has dismissed the optimistic noises coming out of Ibrox, insisting they are of absolutely no concern to him. After convincingly defeating Falkirk in Sunday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final, the Rangers squad greeted news of a last-four meeting with Celtic next month with cheers described by their
manager Graeme Murty as ‘vast’. Just six points behind the champions ahead of Sunday’s Premiership showdown at Ibrox, albeit having played one game more, a run of nine wins in ten games across all competitions has some supporters believing their team could yet snatch the title from Celtic’s grasp. But while Rodgers acknowledges the job Murty has done in reviving an ailing Rangers side, he is adamant the sound bites emanating from across the city mean nothing to him. ‘It doesn’t really concern me what the noise is,’ he said. ‘I am very much focused on Celtic. ‘Graeme has done a good job there stabilising their squad. ‘They have had some good results and one thing that they have got that they had been searching for, certainly in my time up here, has been consistency. ‘They have players who know what it means to play for Rangers and they have got some spirit now.’ Midway through his second season in charge at Celtic Park, Rodgers has yet to taste defeat in eight Old Firm matches. Two draws at Celtic Park in each of Murty’s two spells in charge have been the only blips in an otherwise perfect sequence, with Rodgers winning all three of his visits to Ibrox by an aggregate score of 9-2. After stating over the weekend that Rangers will be under ‘huge pressure’ to finally get a result in front of their own fans, Rodgers added: ‘We go with the same attitude that we always have. ‘I watched the Rangers v Hibs game (which Rangers lost 2-1) and Hibs played very well and with real tempo and intensity in their game. ‘We have been there three times and won three times and won well. We’ll go there with that same humility and same work ethic to get a result.’ Without a win over Celtic since defeating Ronny Deila’s side in the 2016 Scottish Cup semi-final on penalties, Rangers now have three chances to do exactly that before the season ends. And Murty makes no secret of the fact his high-flying players are counting the seconds before being let loose on their age-old rivals. ‘They are flowing with confidence right now and they want to get into the games against Celtic,’ he told Rangers TV. ‘They are going to relish the challenge and I think it is a really good marker for us to look at a team that want to get into that game and mix it up.’ Murty revealed Lee Wallace will play in a bounce game this week as he nears his return from injury. The Ibrox captain has not played since he was forced off against Partick Thistle in September, with the 29-year-old recovering from surgery for a double hernia. ‘I have a game arranged at the training ground for those guys who haven’t had many match minutes recently,’ said Murty. ‘Lee will feature and we will see about the weekend.’ One way or another, Murty remains confident he will have a bona fide left-back in place for Sunday’s game, with Declan John close to a return to full training. Andy Halliday has been filling in for the injured full-back duo for the past two games but Murty said: ‘Declan is really close. I’m hopeful of having a fit left-back for Sunday.’