Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has declared himself deaf to the background noise that already surrounds the build-up to Sunday’s game between the Parkhead side and Rangers at Ibrox.
The teams are set to play one a further three times between now and the end of the campaign after they were also paired in the semi-final of the William Hill Scottish Cup on Sunday evening.
Rangers manager Graeme Murty revealed that the Cup draw had been met with cheers from inside the Ibrox dressing room by his players given the renewed confidence that their recent form has brought with the suggestion being that Rangers are the form team ahead of Sunday's game.
Read more: Celtic defender Kristoffer Ajer looks to keep Hoops on song at Ibrox
“It doesn’t really concern me, to be honest, what the noise is,” said Rodgers. “I am very much focused on Celtic really.”
Since Murty’s side held Celtic to a draw at Ibrox at the end of December they have dropped just three points – a loss to Neil Lennon’s Hibs was the blot on their copybook – but have won all their other 9 games.
That, coupled with an apparent vulnerability of Celtic who hold a far slimmer lead at this stage of the term than they did last year, has generated suggestions than any result for Rangers at the weekend will create a genuine title race.
However, Rodgers has maintained that he is oblivious to what is going on elsewhere with his own focus on what is going on in his own dressing room. Rodgers has an enviable record in the fixture since his arrival at Celtic in June 2016 after winning six games and drawing just twice against the Ibrox side.
And he is unperturbed at any talk of what might be when the dust comes down on this encounter on Sunday evening.
“Graeme has done a good job there stabilising their squad,” said Rodgers.
“They have had some good results and one thing that they have got that they been searching for, certainly in my time up here, has been consistency.
“They have players who know what it means to play for Rangers and be in and around it and they have got some spirit now.
“We go with equally the same attitude and that we always have. I watched the Rangers v Hibs game and Hibs played very well and with real tempo and intensity in their game. We have been there three times and won three times and won well. We’ll go there next week with that same humility and same work ethic to get a result.”
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