Brendan Rodgers responded brilliantly when asked what he felt Barry Ferguson had changed during his time coaching Rangers.
Ferguson is in interim charge at Ibrox after Philippe Clement was sacked following miserable results with his side sitting a whopping 16-points behind Celtic in the Scottish Premiership.
It is a dramatic lead at the summit of the division for the Hoops and a win against their old rivals on Sunday afternoon will take it to 19 with the trophy already draped in green and white ribbons.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  CelticCeltic | 29 | 24 | 3 | 2 | 87 | 17 | 70 | 75 |
| 2 |  RangersRangers | 29 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 59 | 26 | 33 | 59 |
| 3 |  HibernianHibernian | 29 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 44 | 40 | 4 | 43 |
| 4 |  AberdeenAberdeen | 29 | 12 | 6 | 11 | 38 | 46 | -8 | 42 |
Rodgers is taking the Glasgow derby task seriously this weekend, regardless what the table looks like right now and he has done his analysis work on the Light Blues and their recent form.
Rodgers says Ferguson hasn’t changed much at Rangers
The Irishman is not convinced that Rangers have improved much under Ferguson and, when asked if he expects a different challenge under the former midfielder, he was honest.
“Listen, I don’t know Barry, but I know him as a player. And I know that he’s gone in and he’ll have a great connection with his supporters,” Rodgers said.
“His history at the club, his success at the club. He was a fantastic player for them. For me, if I look purely at the coaching aspect of it, over the course of four games, I don’t see great change.
“I see the team go 2-0 down against Kilmarnock and come back and win. I see the team lose at home to Motherwell. I see the team go away and get a fantastic result at Fenerbahce.
“And then I see the team lose last night 2-0 over 90 minutes, but win the tie. I’ve seen the team change the system. Absolutely, a really good tactical change to go 5-4-1 at Fenerbahce. But I still see a lot of the same traits.
“I think you can probably look at Barry over a longer time. If you’re talking to me about coaching and managing, and you’re talking tactics and management and professionalism and these things, that will be done over a period of time.
“If you’re looking at the short term and him coming in as someone the fans can connect with, of course he looks very happy to be in the job and taking the job, him and his staff. But I think if you’re talking coaching, I see a lot of the same traits. Some very good performances, some inconsistencies, and Barry will see that.
“Neil and his staff, I’m pretty sure as well. And then over the course of time, they’ll look to change that. But whether he was in for 4 games or 40 games, a Celtic-Rangers game will always be a tough game. Or a Rangers-Celtic game, whatever way you look at it. But it will always be a tough game.”
Celtic must avenge 3-0 Ibrox loss and Rodgers is ready
Ferguson is just another face on the bench this weekend and Rodgers won’t allow the circus across the city to have any bearing on his Celtic side.
Last time out ended in a 3-0 defeat at Ibrox and that simply cannot happen again.
Rodgers knows as much and he insists his players will be gunning for their opponents from the start. Celts are a running, pressing side and Gers will have to contend with that.
To do so after 120 minutes of Europa League football in midweek – and against buzzbomb player of the year candidate Daizen Maeda for another 90 – should prove difficult.
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