It’s a strange situation that we are faced with ahead of the Scottish Cup showdown between Rangers and Celtic. Supporters of both clubs, and therefore the media, seem to have an insatiable appetite for any news or comment surrounding the game, whereas the players and management in both camps say the last thing they want to do is talk about it.
Yes, league duty is indeed probably more important to both clubs in the grand scheme of things, but the inescapable fact is that the semi-final date between the Glasgow giants will dominate the agenda until the final whistle is blown at Hampden in April, and most likely for a good few weeks beyond.
It would be a stretch to say Rangers manager Mark Warburton is getting caught up in the excitement of it all, but he did at least relent from his ‘one game at-a-time’ mantra momentarily to allow himself to cast an eye towards the mammoth fixture looming on the horizon, as he pondered how his men might fare going up against the challenge of playing Scotland’s champions.
His verdict? Well, let’s just say he is quietly confident that his players will flourish under the intense pressure of the occasion.
“It’s a big game. You have to go and enjoy it,” he said. “The thing about this group of players is that they enjoy what they do. If we can get right, this is another challenge.
“It means a lot to supporters, it’s huge. We get that. It’s a global derby, one of the biggest games in world football in terms of derbies. But you either enjoy it or you crumble under it. I think there’s a squad of players here who will just relish it.
“They’re excited. They’re not nervous, they’re excited.
“You guys, the media, build it up, but they’d never played against Hibs before, they’d never played at Alloa before, they’d never dealt with Ibrox in front of 50,000 before, and they’ve risen to the challenge.
“Dundee was another challenge with people saying they’re a strong, established Premiership side - which they are - but they rose to the challenge.
“This is just another challenge for them. I look at certain key games we’ve had. The first one was in the Petrofac playing Hibs away, that’s the first time the squad had come together and come under scrutiny by the fans.
“Then you have the Hibs game on the 28th, where much was made of both teams being on 41 points. The winner was supposed to lay a massive statement. Look at what they did.
“Then we had Dundee, with the winners getting into the semi-final draw, Dundee resting five players at Parkhead. There was pressure but they loved it, they embraced it and the level of performance was really heartening.
“I think they recognise it’s a massive game but they won’t enjoy it if we don’t perform in the league between now and then.
“We have a job to do in the league. We have to get that done, have a good performance in the Petrofac and then the moment the final whistle goes in the Petrofac we can think about Celtic.”
Warburton’s own experience of intense rivalries growing up extends to the bitter North London derby, sneaking away to attend as a youngster. He is expecting a similar atmosphere at Hampden as he experienced that day as a wide-eyed fledgling football fan.
He said: “I went to a Spurs v Arsenal derby match and stood on The Shelf. I was told by mum and dad I couldn’t go, but I went and got myself a ticket.
“It was lively, for want of a more technical term. It was great. The atmosphere was absolutely fantastic.
“I had to watch Liam Brady curl one into the far corner with the outside of his left foot though.
“It was an intense atmosphere. A big build-up all week. It means so much to the fans.
“It was a great derby but no different to Brentford v Fulham or the Sheffield derby, Wednesday v United. It’s no different to those derbies.”
There are a significant number of Warburton's players who have also yet to go through the Old Firm experience, but Rob Kiernan, who is one of them, believes that may work in their favour when it comes to handling the pressure of the day.
“Obviously it’s exciting because everyone has been waiting for it,” he said. “I’m sure that it’ll be amazing. My phone has been blowing up. Wolves and Birmingham was one I played in, but I don’t think it’s going to compare to this from what I’ve heard.
“We’re looking forward to it and it’s going to be a game that we’ll enjoy. There’s eight or nine of us in the starting XI that have never been involved in one, so it will be new for a lot of us.
“I know football, I’ve been around it my whole life, so I know it’s going to be a big game, I know the crowd is going to be fiery and it will be loud. I haven’t played in anything at this level, but it’s not as if playing on a big stage in front of a big crowd and on TV will be new to me. I’ve done that before.
“I know the magnitude of the game up here is massive, but when I look back to playing against QPR and getting to the play-off finals with Wigan, those are big-money games. It’s one of the biggest games in football so I’ve experienced that pressure, and hopefully that will be good for me.”
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