No motivation needed for either side in huge Old Firm derby clash, insists Ibrox legend

GRAEME SOUNESS insists Rangers and Celtic should need no outside motivation ahead of this weekend’s do-or-die Old Firm title showdown. Three points clear at the top of the Premiership with three games to play, Celtic can all but clinch a third straight title by beating their bitter rivals at Parkhead on Saturday. Speaking after last weekend’s 3-0 win over Hearts, Brendan Rodgers riled Ibrox counterpart Philippe Clement by claiming he was looking forward to ‘a bit of fun’. Interpreting the comments as a jibe at Rangers, the Belgian accused his Parkhead counterpart of showing a lack of respect towards his team. Mail Sport columnist Souness believes neither side should require external factors to gee them up for a high-stakes Glasgow derby with the title on the line. ‘Listen, if you need motivation to play in an Old Firm game then there’s something wrong with you,’ said the Ibrox legend. ‘It’s the biggest derby I’ve ever played in. You have the huge football rivalry between the two biggest clubs in the country. ‘We know there is the unsavoury part to it, of course, but there’s no denying the magnitude of the game. ‘It takes character to win these games. That’s nothing new.’ Rangers player-manager for five years, Souness led the Ibrox club to three league titles and four League Cups between 1986 and 1991. Back in Glasgow to receive a PFA Scotland Special Merit award, the former Scotland captain famously planted a Galatasaray flag in the centre circle of arch-rivals Fenerbahce’s pitch after a Turkish Cup Final. Insisting he never placed much store in winding up opponents via mind games, however, he says: ‘It’s not a road I went down. I take that back to being a player, when I still was one. ‘If anyone said anything mental, it meant nothing. ‘That was just the way I was educated. ‘We do our job, we turn up and do it to the best of our ability and, hopefully, get a bit of luck on the day.’ While a Parkhead draw would preserve Rangers’ hopes, an inability to add more goals against 10-man Kilmarnock in Sunday’s 4-1 win may yet prove damaging, with Celtic having a better goal difference by five. Souness has called for the current squad of players to summon up the spirit of legendary players from the club’s storied past. ‘It’s about being motivated to the point where you are keeping your concentration levels and not getting carried away on the day and losing your focus,’ he said. ‘The group of players I had were tailor-made for these big games. Richard Gough, Trevor Steven, Gary Stevens, Mark Hateley, Ray Wilkins… what you find with the bigger the player, the bigger the occasions, the better they are. ‘I was lucky to have some real men in my dressing room. I didn’t need to say a word to them on occasions like this weekend.’