Brendan Rodgers is looking forward to this Sunday’s Glasgow derby at Ibrox, the first game for his side since they secured their fourth league title in a row last weekend. But the Hoops will go into the match without the services of Jota and Alistair Johnston, both of whom have been ruled out through injury. While the manager is hopeful that Johnston will be back in action before the end of this season, the prognosis for Jota is less positive, with the Portuguese winger ruled out for between six to nine months after suffering a knee injury in the title win at Tannadice last weekend. For the players who will be part of the squad on Sunday, the target is a straightforward one – to win the final derby of the season. Speaking to the media ahead of the game, Brendan Rodger said: “This is a game which is all about pride. We’ve proved our point over the course of this season in terms of our performance level and consistency. “I think the challenge in these games is that we’ve been so comfortable going into the games and I felt that has really disrupted our mindset. ‘When it was win or bust in the cup final, we won it because that’s it.’ “In these games we’ve been so comfortable, and even though you’re pushing – I know what these games mean to supporters and what it means to myself and the club. “There can just be that little bit in the back of the mind that you’re 13 points clear or 16 points clear, so that has taken a fraction of an edge off, which you don’t want, but there’s maybe a sub-conscious thing there. “But this is our last game and we’re fighting for the pride of our team and also for our supporters because we lost the last game at Ibrox, deservedly so. “We shouldn’t have lost the game at home, but we did, and we have to make that right in the last game.”The Celtic manager will be able to call up on the services of two veterans of this fixture – James Forrest and Callum McGregor. Forrest became Celtic’s most decorated player of all-time with the title win last weekend to give him 26 major honours, while McGregor is not far behind him with 24 winner’s medals. The experience of both players could be a crucial factor in Sunday’s derby clash at Ibrox. The manager explained: “I think, in particular, the guys who’ve been through it and especially the Scottish boys – having players from your national country means everything in these games for me, because they understand what it’s all about, they’ve grown up with it and they’ve been through it, so they’ll know the importance of it. ‘And those two players have been in numerous games and scored and performed at the highest level, so they know what it takes to play in this type of game.’ “We need to start the game in the way that we would want to.The last game at Celtic Park we didn’t start the game and we got done very early on with a corner, so that gave Rangers something to hang on to, and then we switched off at a thrown-in, and very quickly we were two down. But the response in that game was very good. “We came back and then the whole second half we were the only team that was going to win it, and then we make an unfortunate slip and a mistake and they’ve finished really well. “But there are mistakes in these games. You know, 100 per cent, that you can’t be perfect in them but we also know that we’ve won there before and won there a number of times, so we know our game and what our game looks like, but always in these games you want to be at your very best in order to win and play well. “In a Celtic-Rangers game, there’s never a meaningless game or there’s nothing in the game, there’s everything in this game so we have to go and prove that on the field. ‘Yes, we are champions, we’re the best team, the most consistent team with the mentality, Champions League progression, all of this here, but these are important games.’ “Our preparation’s been really good. We had our little hiccup against St Johnstone and from that you see the reaction – the players have been brilliant. “And I always think that at this stage of the season, we’ve set target, set goals for the last five games and the cup final, but we’re also preparing for next season. We’re trying to look to finish strong so that we can prepare for that as well.” Watch the manager’s full press conference Injury update Glasgow derby preview Celtic’s consistency Experience of McGregor & Forrest Quality of Celtic strikers Enjoying the pressures of managing Celtic MATCH CENTRE Get live Rangers v Celtic match updates at our official match centre - Visit the Match Centre MORE ON THE MATCH Luke McCowan interview - read more Celtic FC Quiz: Rangers v Celtic - take the quiz Training Gallery – click here Upcoming FixturesRangers Vs. Celtic – Sat, May 5th 2025, 14:00
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