Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has named Hoops captain Scott Brown as their ‘trump card’ in Sunday’s Old Firm derby against Rangers, and called for contract rebel Tom Rogic to start.
Celtic head into the clash with their lead at the top of the table cut to just six points by the Light Blues, although Brendan Rodgers’ side do have a game in hand.
The Hoops travel to Ibrox having lost just one of the last ten Old Firm matches, but Rangers’ good form in recent weeks has seen expectations rising in Govan ahead of the match.
In his column for the Daily Record, Sutton admits that Rangers have improved, but slammed them for the extra hype that has been raised this week ahead of the clash, before highlighting which players will make the difference.
“How many times have we heard this? They win a couple of games and it’s we’re back, the gap’s closed, we’ve absolutely cracked it. There’s never any in between. It’s good that they are? confident and on the crest of a wave. This is crunch time now though. It’s okay talking the talk on the outside but it’s another what they feel on the inside.
“For me, Celtic have the trump card in their captain Scott Brown. He will be absolutely lapping this up but he needs others to follow him. He will be key but there are some ?interesting battles. You’ve got the James ?Tavernier and Daniel Candeias versus Kieran Tierney and Scott Sinclair down one side, there’s the contest in midfield, and then? the questions over both defences.”
Sutton then called for Celtic contract rebel Tom Rogic to start the match, with the Australian reportedly rejecting a new deal at Parkhead, as per the Daily Mail.
“I’ve said I’m a fan of Alfredo Morelos and that will be interesting how Celtic treat him as there are questions about his temperament. On the other side it’s about time Sinclair rocked up in a big game this year as well while Tom Rogic is a big player for me and has to start. Celtic have the attacking threat and it will be up to Rangers to cope,” he said.
OPINION
Sutton’s Celtic affiliation really comes to the fore here, but he is spot on in many ways. There have been several false dawns for Rangers in recent times, and they need to back up all this chat on Sunday. If they go out there and take a heavy loss at Ibrox to Celtic then they are immediately back to square one, and potentially 12 points behind the Hoops with the title race essentially over before it even began. One win in the last 10 Old Firm games is not a brilliant record for the Gers, who will face Celtic again soon in the Scottish Cup semi-final.