Philip Clement insisted Rangers’ season is not over ahead of Thursday’s game against the Old Firm, while Brendan Rodgers vowed Celtic will not “soften up” despite taking a 14-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
The latest version of this fixture – Sky Sports live broadcast – It comes just weeks after the pair met in the controversial League Cup final, which Celtic won on penalties.
Clement insists the defeat at Hampden Park proves Rangers can beat the champions, with the Scottish FA’s chief referee later admitting they should have been awarded a penalty in extra-time when the score was 3-3.
But if the Belgians are to drive a much-needed win in this match, they will have to do it without captain James Tavernier, who has joined a growing injury list.
Clement: We need to prove they can beat Celtic
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Philip Clement believes his side have proven they can take on Celtic and insists their season is not over despite them trailing their rivals by 14 points ahead of Thursday’s game.
“We deserved to win the last game against Celtic, we had our best chance and there were different circumstances,” said Clement. Sky Sports News.
“The team showed that. Let’s show it again and take the three points.”
Asked if some fans were right to think the season was already over due to Celtic’s league lead, he added: “No, of course not.”
“We will fight for every match and every result. It is everyone’s duty and what everyone wants.
“It’s a new squad with new long-term projects, the young players are getting better and better, the hunger and desire to win every game. That’s what this club is about and that will never change.”
Rangers drew with Motherwell after losing to St Mirren and Clement added: “Everyone who saw the two games against Motherwell and St Mirren – we were a team that deserved to win those games, we did.
“We have to be more clinical, more efficient and have more luck than we had in that game.”
Rodgers: Celtic won’t go soft
Brendan Rodgers has won 16 of his 20 Old Firm games and lost just one.
Meanwhile, the champions are unbeaten in their last 27 league games but Rodgers insists they are taking nothing for granted against a Gers side who have come under fire from their own supporters.
“Listen, we will always apply pressure,” the Northern Irishman said. “We are under pressure to win every game and do well, so nothing changes in that regard.
“We always prepare for games with a humble attitude. People see the gap but they don’t step into it. We cannot and will not relent.
“We perform for the next game because we know how much this game means to the people.
“We went there in the first game of last season with pressure and all kinds of difficulties. Now we go there with 14 points… But that hasn’t changed for us. The mentality is to go and perform and see out the game.
“That pressure will always be there, especially at Ibrox where there are no supporters.”
Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
Celtic’s Paulo Bernardo said live on Sky Sports ahead of their clash with Rangers on January 2 that the team are aiming for a better 2025 despite only losing twice this year.
Having grown up in a Celtic-supporting family in Country Antrim, Rodgers knows how much matches mean to supporters, regardless of the context of the league table.
“I understand the game, I understand it as a supporter and I understood it from my first game as manager in September 2016,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed every single one of them. The build-up to them is always great.
“There’s always some kind of pressure. You hear talk about a ‘dead rubber’. There’s never been a Rangers-Celtic game that’s a dead rubber. Not in my book.
“You want to win every game and perform at the highest level. I love this situation, I love the game. This is an iconic game and one you always want to win.”
Rodgers typically won a total of 16 games and only lost once in 20 derbies. Thursday’s win means he has now taken 17 wins against Aberdeen and the Light Blues, more than any other club.
Watch the Old Firm clash live on Sky Sports Football and the Main Event on Thursday January 2 from 2pm until 3pm kick-off.
