‘Everyone understands’ – Callum McGregor makes clear what Celtic want to avoid against Rangers at Ibrox

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Celtic captain Callum McGregor has spoken ahead of the Bhoys’ trip to Ibrox as they aim to open up a 17-point gap over their rivals at the summit.

Contrasting Scottish Premiership fortunes between the pair have led to a strange dynamic ahead of the clash, with most of the pressure on the hosts amid their slump in form under Phillipe Clement.

Nevertheless, Brendan Rodgers also has his fair share of pressure to deal with today, assembling a side to play in front of a hostile atmosphere with no away supporters in the ground to give vocal backing.

This campaign, Celtic have got the better of Rangers twice. Once at Parkhead back in September, and the other coming last month at Hampden in the Premier Sports Cup final.

Evaluating the task ahead today, Callum McGregor has made clear what Celtic are keen to avoid as they learn lessons from a topsy-turvy affair at the national stadium.

Callum McGregor keen on eliminating derby chaos

Last time out, Celtic toppled Rangers in a chaotic match-up that ended up descending into a basketball style match where control for either side for meaningful periods was limited.

Speaking to The Daily Record, McGregor has set his sights on enjoying a much more settled day at the office and emphasised getting a proper foothold in proceedings as a main objective,

He stated: “It’s fair to say we weren’t at our best in that game, especially in the first half. In the second half we scored three goals and could have probably had more. So, we didn’t play well for 45 minutes and then as the game went on we started to get control of the game.

“It was a bit of a chaotic game where we scored two and then we conceded straight after it, which doesn’t help things. But in cup finals everyone understands that that can happen. There’s so much emotion around the game and it became a bit chaotic.

“From our point of view we want to stop the chaos and try to control the game a bit more. If we take the chaos out of the game then it starts to look a bit more like what we want it to.”

Celtic looking to elevate themselves after a fantastic start

Contextually, Celtic will still be in a brilliant position to kick on regardless of today’s result, but the joy of claiming the points in a Glasgow Derby is always the priority, no matter the circumstances.

Complacency simply isn’t an option; it can lead to lapses in concentration, which can then impact the future trajectory they want to go down across the board.

Rodgers and company are fully aware that giving any sort of hope to Rangers wouldn’t be the ideal way to start the New Year. Now, they simply need to put their principles into practice on a day where they could extend their lead at the top provided they claim three points.