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Warburton relishing Ibrox clash
- Updated: December 30, 2016
The third Old Firm derby takes place on Saturday when Rangers welcome Celtic to Ibrox for the first time this season and Sky Sports’ David Tanner caught up with Gers boss Mark Warburton for his thoughts on the crunch clash.
DT: What adjectives would you use to describe the Old Firm game?
MW: I’m staggered by the games, the sense of occasion and the importance attached to them. When I was with my old club, my son showed me a YouTube video of Rangers 3 Celtic 2; it’s entitled “Penny Arcade” and it shows eight minutes of the build up to the last Old Firm game [at Ibrox Stadium]. I was sold!
To be involved in a fixture of this significance and with this passion is truly a privilege. Words like emotional, important, significant, intensity, excitement, all those words. It’s a privilege to be involved in it.
DT: You have played two Old Firm games at Hampden Park, one at Celtic and this is your first at Ibrox. Do you think that home advantage will help narrow the gap on the day?
MW: No. Our players relish playing for the club. The atmosphere at Ibrox has been tremendous over the last three games. We want to defend our home patch but home and away we always sell every ticket and that gives the players a level of responsibility that I want them to enjoy.
DT: Brendan Rodgers has said that the pressure is all on you – can you argue with that?
MW: When you play at Rangers, every game is a pressure game with the level of support we have – the last three games at Ibrox have been sold out and a fourth is coming up. When you put a blue jersey on, there is pressure so that is nothing new to us.
DT: Are the fans owed one after the way the roof caved-in at Celtic Park?
MW: I’m not having that about the roof caving in – I bit my tongue about some of the comments made.
DT: It was five goals, though, it’s an historic defeat…
MW: Yes, at 3-1 I saw some of the comments which I totally disagree with but you bite your tongue and see where you end up at the end of the season. Our fans always …
