Moussa Dembele bagged a hat-trick to lead Celtic to a crushing 5-1 win over arch-rivals Rangers on Saturday in Scotland’s first top-flight Old Firm derby since 2012. He’s nowhere near the level of player I am. “To play the game in the right manner and with the right discipline – fully committed of course, but to make sure we behave ourselves impeccably”.
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Brendan Rodgers wants to see Celtic lay down an early marker in the title race when they face rivals Rangers on Saturday. As a former manager of Liverpool and Swansea, he has sampled derby matches in Merseyside and South Wales and expects the Old Firm derby to be “unique”.
“Whether we get the right result or not, for us it’s about going and doing what we can do”, Miller said.
“It was a very dominant performance and I thought we showed a lot of great traits in the game”. Before kick-off there was the odd sight of, literally, thousands of Celtic fans hanging around waiting for the Rangers team bus so they could greet it with a chorus of “You’re not Rangers anymore”. When you play them at Parkhead, it’s a different atmosphere.
“But, as I say, at 3-1 we had a choice to make – damage limitation or do we actually look to say ‘will we get the next goal here and we could nick something at the end?'”
“We were high up the pitch, we were pressing like we do normally, and I was pleased with the first 15 minutes of the second half”.
With a paper thin squad, the Dons faltered in the final five games, winning one and losing five of their five post-split matches.
Stuart Armstrong scored Celtic’s fifth in stoppage time with a fine angled shot past the outstretched arm of Rangers goalkeeper Wes Foderingham. “Having experienced derbies before there is a uniqueness to each one and this is iconic throughout the world and one that I am really looking forward to”.
“But I don’t think anything will prepare you from watching on the television to actually being there”.
However, the entertainment on it was limited until Celtic grabbed the opener.
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As well as working with the Northern Irishman, also upon his checklist of reasons for moving north was the opportunity to play in the Champions League and win trophies.
