Old Firm managers Brendan Rodgers and Mark Warburton are confident their respective players will retain their composure amid the intensity of Saturday’s derby at Celtic Park.
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A hat-trick from Moussa Dembele, along with goals from Scott Sinclair and Stuart Armstrong cancelled out Joe Garner’s first-half header for the visitors. However, hopes of a comeback were dampened when Sinclair made it 3-1 before Rangers debutant defender Philippe Senderos was sent off by referee Willie Collum for picking up two bookings, the second for a hand ball.
Rangers’ spiral into financial chaos and demotion to the lower divisions left the Scottish Premiership bereft of its standout fixture and it returned with a bang at a rocking Celtic Park.
When Barrie pulled his shot just wide I turned to Davie and said: “If we get this goal here we’re in good shape”.
This was the first time the sides have met in the Scottish top flight for five seasons.
‘I don’t see a major gulf. But then we got the goal and wanted to come out hard and fast in the second half.
Rodgers, who confirmed that Griffiths is out for the Champions League game against Barcelona in midweek, while skipper Scott Brown will be monitored after picking up a knock, said: “It is ironic”. Today they have the bragging rights, absolutely, and deserved to win.
“We were going to get beaten by three or four, I read four minimum somewhere from one very wise pundit and I have read all the comments from ex-players and ex-managers but it is about us and it’s about Rangers”. We have just not put it together as much this season as last season. I think because of how Celtic were only a few months back in the semi-final, for me it is a good measure to see where the team is at.
“That would suggest that we doubted the quality of the players”, he said.
“Obviously, we’d like to have 12 or 13”.
Last season’s free-flowing and high-pressing game that impressed so many seems so far away now as Mark Warburton’s team sit four points behind their rivals having played a game more – and it’s only the start of September.
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‘The atmosphere and the crowd baying for blood in terms of having a player sent off, I was anxious for Niko, ‘ explained Warburton.
