Manager: We know what’s required to win a derby game

The first Glasgow derby of the 2025/26 season beckons this Sunday when Celtic head to Ibrox for the lunchtime kick-off. And Brendan Rodgers believes it’s the ideal fixture for his team to face as they look to bounce back from their midweek Euro disappointment. The Champions are looking to maintain their good start to the new campaign, having won their opening three fixtures, and new signing, Michel-Ange Balikwisha, is in the squad and ready to play his part if selected on Sunday. Speaking ahead of the derby clash, the Celtic manager said: “A game against Rangers is always a game that every Celtic supporter around the world will want to see their team win, so there’s no greater game to come back to after that to then go and play. “Domestically, we’ve made a good start. It’s a shame the two nil-nil draws have put a real dampener on it, but we go into this game and we want to continue that good form. I always expect a tough game when we play against Rangers. “I like Michel-Ange’s talent and he’s got that skillset to play for Celtic,” the manager added. “He’s an exciting player who works very hard, so I’m delighted to get him in, and I’m very hopeful that we can close the window out over the next few days with getting the signings that are going to give us that real depth in the squad that we need. “He’s been playing, he’s fit and strong and he’s been playing games so he’s ready-made to play if needed.”Brendan Rodgers has a wealth of experience in this fixture, and will take charge of Celtic in a Glasgow derby for the 24 time on Sunday. His record is an impressive one – 16 wins, four draws and just three defeats – and the target is to chalk up another victory this weekend. “We’ve won most of our games against Rangers because we’ve played well, we’ve focused on performance and not getting too caught up in the whole hype of it all,” he explained. “Playing without fear, and playing the level of football that’s expected here at Celtic. When we’ve done that in the majority of my time here, we’ve played well and won the games. ‘So it’s not rocket science – play well, play with confidence, compete, fight, run, show your quality and you’ll always have a chance of winning the games.’ “You always analyse and observe the games and see where you can be better, but each time you’re playing against different managers and coaches with different styles, so you always have to take that into consideration. “I think the game we lost at Celtic Park, we weren’t very good in the first half and gave away two poor goals, but we dominated the second half and lost to a mistake late on in the game, so we shouldn’t have lost that game. “So I’m looking forward to seeing us and the response from our midweek in this game. “Domestically, we’ve started well in terms of performance and result, and I always feel, especially with adding to the squad, that we’ll get better, so that starts on Sunday.” MORE ON THE MATCH Arne Engels: We know what is expected going into Glasgow derby –