CELTIC v RANGERS:CELTIC MANAGER Gordon Strachan admits he is dreading a defeat in tomorrow's Old Firm derby at Parkhead. Celtic meet arch rivals Rangers for the third time this season with a win apiece, Walter Smith's side winning 4-2 at Parkhead in August, and the the Premier League champions responding with a 1-0 win at Ibrox in December. Celtic are two points clear of the Govan club at the top of the table after Rangers whittled away a seven-point deficit in recent weeks.
Strachan will not contemplate another home derby defeat, which would take Smith’s men top of the SPL but Strachan insists the destination of the title will not be decided tomorrow.
“It’s a huge game,” he said. “You look forward to it; there’s no doubt about that but you dread, you just dread, getting beaten. In saying that I think it’s been proved in the last couple of games that it doesn’t determine where trophies go.
“The two teams are making mistakes elsewhere. But we will not think about that on Sunday; we will just think about winning the game and seeing where that takes us.”
Strachan, in upbeat mood, called for some humour to be injected into the traditionally tense fixture by the two sets of fans.
Celtic midfielder Paul Hartley has backed new signing Willo Flood to handle his first Old Firm derby should the Irishman be given his Celtic debut tomorrow.
Flood, who arrived from Dundee United in the January transfer window, was cup-tied for last week’s Scottish Cup win over Queen’s Park at Parkhead.
The lifelong Celtic fan, however, is in Gordon Strachan’s squad for this weekend’s crucial Clydesdale Bank Premier League clash with Rangers.
Hartley is confident his fellow midfielder can step undaunted into the biggest fixture in the Scottish football calendar.
He said: “I think Willo has the right type of character for the Glasgow derby.
“I’ve played against him a lot and I’ve seen him up close in training. He can play in this side. He’s a terrific footballer and he’s got a bit of dig about him.
“Willo grew up as a Celtic fan and knows what it’s all about. He knows what it takes in these games.”
With midfielder Shaun Maloney a doubt with a recurrence of a hamstring injury and skipper Stephen McManus back from a knee injury, there is some uncertainty surrounding the likely Celtic line-up.
Rangers Lee McCulloch also insists defeat to Celtic this weekend would not kill off their title hopes. But the Ibrox utility man admits mounting another comeback in the title race would be difficult if they do leave Celtic Park empty-handed.
A 1-0 loss in the last Old Firm derby at Ibrox in December left Rangers trailing their arch-rivals by seven points but Walter Smith’s men have since reduced the deficit to just two points. “You don’t want to go there and lose but I wouldn’t say the season would be over,” said McCulloch.“There is a lot of football left, a lot of big games to be played.”
John Fleck could be set to make his Old Firm debut after Rangers manager Walter Smith claimed the youngster was ready for his first taste of the famous fixture.
The highly-rated 17-year-old has dominated the headlines since the turn of the year after making his breakthrough into the first team.
He featured in five games in January, earning man of the match awards and netting his first senior goal in the win over Dundee United last time out.
And the attacking midfielder now looks set to face his toughest test yet, with Smith hinting he could be thrown into the white-hot atmosphere of Celtic Park.
“He wants to play and he has wanted to play in all the games,” said the Ibrox boss. “In his own mind, he is ready to play in these games.”
CELTIC(Provisional squad): Boruc, Hinkel, Caldwell, McManus, O'Dea, Naylor, Maloney, McCourt, Scott Brown, Flood, Nakamura, Crosas, Donati, Hartley, McGeady, Vennegoor of Hesselink, Samaras, McDonald, Fox, Robson, Loovens.
RANGERS(Provisional squad): McGregor, Broadfoot, Bougherra, Weir, Whittaker, Davis, Mendes, Ferguson, Fleck, Miller, Boyd, Lafferty, Alexander, Papac, McCulloch, Naismith, Aaron, Dailly.
