Ferguson? Clement? It’s still the same Rangers … Brendan Rodgers sees no difference in challenge posed by city rivals under interim boss
Brendan Rodgers insists Rangers present no different a challenge to Celtic under Barry Ferguson than they did when Philippe Clement was in charge.
Appointed to the Ibrox hot seat after Clement’s reign ended with a home loss to St Mirren on February 22, the former Ibrox skipper took Jose Mourinho’s scalp on Thursday as Rangers edged out Fenerbahce on penalties.
While Rodgers congratulated Rangers on reaching the Europa League quarter-finals, he’s seen little across Ferguson’s four games in charge to suggest the team have greatly changed.
And he believes the interim boss needs more time to be properly judged as a coach.
‘Listen, I don’t know Barry, but I know him as a player and I know that he’s gone in and he’ll have a great connection with the supporters,’ said the Celtic manager ahead of Sunday’s Old Firm clash at Parkhead.
‘His history at the club, his success at the club … he was a fantastic player for them.
Rodgers sees little difference in challenge presented by Rangers since Ferguson took over
Ferguson celebrates with Tavernier after Rangers’ penalty shootout victory over Fenerbahce
The countdown is on as Rodgers prepares for visit of Rangers to Celtic Park on Sunday
‘For me, if I look purely at the coaching aspect of it, over the course of four games I don’t see great change.
‘I see the team go 2-0 down against Kilmarnock and come back and win. I see the team lose at home to Motherwell. I see the team go away and get a fantastic result at Fenerbahce and then I see the team lose last night 2-0 over 90 minutes but win the tie.
‘I’ve seen the team change the system, absolutely a really good tactical change to go 5-4-1 at Fenerbahce, but I still see a lot of the same traits.
‘I think you can probably look at Barry over a longer time. If you’re talking to me about coaching and managing and you’re talking tactics and management and professionalism and these things, that will be done over a period of time.
‘If you’re looking at the short term and him coming in as someone the fans can connect with, of course he looks very happy to be in the job and taking the job, him and his staff.
‘But I think if you’re talking coaching, I see a lot of the same traits. Some very good performances, some inconsistencies, and Barry will see that, and Neil (McCann) and his staff I’m pretty sure (will) as well.
‘And then over the course of time they’ll hopefully look to change that. But whether he was in for four games or 42 games, a Celtic-Rangers game will always be a tough game or a Rangers-Celtic game, whatever way you look at it.’
Three years after Rangers reached the Europa League final, Rodgers feels their progression to face Athletic Bilbao in the last eight underscores the size of his own club’s achievements as they seek to close out a 13th title in 14 seasons in the coming weeks.
Ferguson and assistant Neil McCann have a hug after beating Jose Mourinho’s side
Celtic will be looking for Daizen Maeda to have a huge influence on the Old Firm clash
Jota is set to play his first game against Rangers since returning to Celtic for second spell
‘I think it’s congratulations to Rangers firstly to get to the quarter-final,’ he added.
‘I think that people will look in at what Celtic do and see it as being easy, but it’s not easy.
‘You play here, you manage here, a club like Celtic, it’s high pressure. Every game is a must-win game, that mentality.
‘A team among our rivals who have done well in Europe get to the quarter-finals, it shows the consistency and mentality of this team and how well they’ve been doing.
‘But I think we’re very focused on our own selves and we want to be able to bring our performance to the game at the weekend and to see if we can extend our lead (in the Premiership).’
Callum McGregor will train with the squad for the first time on Saturday morning before a decision is made on his fitness.
The Celtic skipper trained on his own the past two days as he manages a calf issue.
Determined to give himself every chance of making the game, McGregor said: ‘Hopefully I’ll be good to train and then, if I train, I will be fine.
James Forrest, far right, is likely to return to Celtic squad after a long period on sidelines
Celtic skipper Callum McGregor is an injury doubt for Rangers match and trained on his own
‘It’s been a tough week but I’m trying to do everything I can to be available.
“I’ve said it a million times, to play for Celtic is a huge honour and you have to put yourself in the position that many, many supporters would do.
‘You have to play through the pain barrier and give yourself every chance to be involved in these games because, one, it means so much to the club. and two, it means a lot personally as well.
‘You want to play in these games and these are the games that, as football players, are the best days.
‘So, when you bring all that together, then you feel a huge sense of responsibility to push as hard as you possibly can to make sure that you’re available.’
Rodgers is still without Paulo Bernardo and Liam Scales but is likely to welcome James Forrest back into his squad.
