Gordon Strachan fired a warning at Rangers manager Steven Gerrard ahead of the manager taking on Celtic on Saturday by highlighting the dangers of over hyping his squad.
The 61-year-old shared that players being over-psyched or too worked up ahead of match can be a big problem and shared that Gerrard needs to get the balance right when talking to his team ahead of them facing Celtic.
Strachan also highlighted how the Gers were perhaps a slight disadvantage going into latest Old Firm Derby as Brendan Rodger’s squad contained several players who had experienced an Old Firm game before.
“So it’s a match which tests you, that’s for sure. Celtic are the more grounded squad, they’ve known each other for a long time, as the group’s been together since Brendan Rodgers went there,” wrote Strachan in his blog for Paddy Power.
“That’s why I say they’re two years ahead of Rangers, in terms of match preparation, team shape, and consistency in the group. They’ve also got a right good experience of the Old Firm games now.
“There are some in the Rangers team who haven’t played that many. That matters. You need to know how to handle it, how to go about the game.
“There is a point where people can get over-psyched and too worked up over the game, and that can be a big problem.
“Steven Gerrard’s been trying to gee his squad up after the Hibs draw. But there’s a risk you can go over the top with the psyching up. He needs to find a balance, whether that’s what he says to the media, in the dressing room, or in team meetings.
“Of course, he’s right, you have to use the crowd’s energy. But you don’t play to them. You use their enthusiasm to make you jump higher, run faster, run further. It can boost you. But when the crowd are losing their focus, you don’t follow them.”
OPINION
Strachan is right to warn Gerrard about over-hyping his squad as sometimes it’s easy to see a player struggled when a match has been built up too much to them as some don’t thrive under that sort of pressure. However the Gers boss has been at Ibrox long enough now to know his players well enough in order to dictate how best to treat them in order to see them flourish. While Strachan is also right about Celtic’s players having more Old Firm experience overall, that may not be a deciding factor when it’s all said and done. It’s hard to argue that experience doesn’t help but every player set to feature on Saturday should no doubt be aware how important the fixture is in the football calendar as well as how key it is to supporters of both side’s being happy regarding their club. The 61-year-old may list several things going in Celtic’s favour ahead of the clash but it’s very telling that he avoids to directly predict a winner.