BRENDAN Rodgers will go head to head with Rangers manager Graeme Murty in this afternoon’s mouth-watering Old Firm clash but the Celtic boss believes his rival has already done enough to remain in charge at Ibrox beyond the summer.

The fact that Rodgers and Murty will stand in opposing dugouts in Govan in what is now considered to be one of the most crucial meetings between the Glasgow clubs in recent years, is in itself credit to the Rangers manager.

Murty replaced Pedro Caixinha in October with his team in fourth place, six points adrift of leaders Celtic after just 10 games. Nineteen games on and his team have managed to keep pace with the SPFL Premiership champions and could reduce that deficit to three points with a win today.

The man who was previously in charge of the club’s U20s has been given the manager’s job until the end of the campaign but Rodgers believes Murty should remain there on a permanent basis.

“Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely,” said the Celtic manager. “I think he has done very, very well. It is never easy your first management job, a job of this scale and inheriting what was a difficult situation. At the minute he has got the permanent position through until the end of the season and he has stabilised all the emotion around everything. He has been able to look to do it the way he wants to do it.

“He has brought back a British core to the team, brought in some players who understand what it means to play for Rangers. He has brought in one or two others. So I think he and his staff have done a very good job.

“I think he has shown that he has probably got a really good chance of getting the job.”