RANGERS manager Jo Potter has claimed that Celtic lack the belief they are a better team than her side in the wake of the 0-0 draw the Glasgow rivals ground out at Broadwood today.
The Parkhead club are in a strong position to land their first ever Scottish title despite failing to win the Scottish Women’s Premier League 1 match.
They are level on points with their Ibrox opponents – but they have a vastly superior goal difference and will be crowned champions next week if they win their final three games against Partick Thistle, Hearts and Hibernian.
However, Potter, who picked up the PFA Scotland SWPL 1 Manger of the Year award last night, was disappointed Rangers failed to triumph after hitting the crossbar twice with long-range shots.
READ MORE: Celtic manager insists her side deserved Old Firm win over Rangers
She vowed that her girls, who play defending champions Glasgow City away on Sunday and then Hibernian and Partick Thistle, would fight to the death and not give up on their hopes of lifting the Premiers League trophy.
She also expressed the view that Rangers have progressed so much in the past two years that Celtic no longer feel they are a superior side to them when they meet in Old Firm matches.
“I think we did enough to win the game,” she said. “We rattled the crossbar a couple of times so it feels disappointing. We limited them to minimal chances. I can only remember Vic (goalkeeper Esson) making one save.
“We knew we needed three points more than they did. The goal difference is essentially worth an extra point for them. But there are three games left and we can’t throw the towel in now. We would never do that anyway.
“We hit the woodwork a couple of times. We worked all week on getting shots off from the edge of the box and we had many opportunities. At half-time there was nothing tactically I could give them because I didn’t think we were doing anything wrong. We were in complete control.
“We just weren’t taking chances. We had a lot of possession but I wanted us to get shots away earlier. It is unfortunate because I thought we deserved the three points, but football is not like that. We didn’t stick the ball in the back of the net so we need to dust ourselves down and go again when we play Glasgow City on Sunday."
READ MORE: Rangers 0 Celtic 0: Parkhead club boost hopes of Scottish title win
Potter added: “We need to keep doing what we are doing. We have a great time and a great squad. We need to find that little extra bit now to go again. We will give the opposition every respect but we need to keep going.
“We also have a cup final to look forward at the end of the season which is a big high but we really want to finish off with a high and get those points in the bag. We know if we play the we need to do, it doesn’t matter who we play. We have got to have that confidence.
“You can see the momentum shift in the last couple of years in the Old Firm game where they maybe don’t have that belief that they are the better team. We have proved on many occasions this season that we can dominate these games and we can dominate them comfortably.
“I have never felt that we have been out of control and if we weren’t the better team we were still in with a chance of scoring. We need to make sure we are building on that confidence in these last three games and we are definitely taking it into next season.”
There was an impressive turn out for the game despite it being screened live on Sky Sports and Potter felt the Rangers supporters who turned up helped her team to perform.
“You see the difference the crowd can make,” she said. “The club done great work to promote it and get bums on seats. We need these fans and these game deserve that.”
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