What Brendan Rodgers said before Celtic beat Rangers in League Cup final gives fans Glasgow Derby mindset insight

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Celtic fans will be looking forward to welcoming Rangers to Celtic Park for Sunday’s Glasgow Derby for two reasons.

The first and most obvious is that the Hoops support will be looking for revenge for the New Year Glasgow Derby defeat where Celtic lost to Rangers 3-0.

It was an insipid performance by Brendan Rodgers’ side, and fans will be eager to see the Celtic manager put that scoreline right at Parkhead.

The second reason is that a win against the Ibrox club means Celtic can win the title against St Johnstone if they also beat Hearts after the international break.

So that’s a look at the game from the fan’s perspective but will Rodgers feel the same as he prepares Celtic to face their closest rivals on Sunday?

A quick look back at the pre-match League Cup final program gives fans an insight into how the Celtic manager is preparing for this game.

• READ MORE: ‘Too strong’ – Johan Mjallby totally rejects what ‘people say’ about Celtic vs Rangers games

Brendan Rodgers’ Hampden comments show fully focused Celtic boss vs Rangers

Rodgers said in the Premier Sports pre-match Hampden program [print edition page 11], “I tend not to look back so much but rather look forward and enjoy the next challenge.

“Hampden is clearly a place that we had to create the mindset to go and enjoy and we’ve been successful. However, the next opportunity is the one we prepare for and what you’ve done in the past doesn’t really come into it.

“I love the atmosphere that is created there and obviously the Celtic supporters come out in their thousands. It’s a nice big pitch and that suits us.”

Rodgers is not interested in revenge. The Celtic boss is only focused on the here and now and what he can control.

This mindset is an excellent indicator that Rodgers is not too hung up on the last defeat and that he is fully focused on one thing and one thing only. Ensuring Celtic beats Rangers tomorrow.

And when Rodgers is in that frame of mind, that will keep the players focused on the task ahead as well.

Brendan Rodgers’ three wins over Rangers as Celtic boss

Rodgers’ record against Rangers is excellent over his two spells as Celtic boss. In 21 games, the Carnlough man has won 16, drawn three and lost just two.

Over those games, the Celtic boss has saw his teams score 51 goals and concede just 22 with plenty of dominant results in there.

So with that in mind, and this was no easy task, here are three of Rodgers’ best Rangers wins in the Celtic hotseat.

• Sep 10, 2016: Scottish Premiership: Celtic 5 v 1 Rangers. The original Demolition Derby where Moussa Dembele ran riot with a derby debut hat trick.
• Apr 29, 2017: Scottish Premiership: Rangers 1 v 5 Celtic. Rodgers recorded Celtic’s biggest-ever win at Ibrox as Mikel Lustig stole a policeman’s hat!

• Dec 15, 2024: Scottish League Cup Final: Celtic 3 v 3 Rangers [Celtic win 5-4 on penalties]. Celtic officially became Scotland’s most successful club in front of their bitter rivals.