THERE’S a new sense of enthusiasm about Rangers as they cross the city under the leadership of popular interim boss Barry Ferguson.
The Ibrox men may be trailing in the league but morale is high after the Gers booked their spot in the last eight of the Europa League with a fine win over Fenerbahce.
Brendan Rodgers[/caption]
Interim Rangers head coach Barry Ferguson[/caption]
Rodgers doesn’t see a massive difference to Clement’s Rangers[/caption]
As for Brendan Rodgers, he says he DOESN’T see great change when it comes to the comparison between Ferguson’s Rangers and that of Philippe Clement.
Speaking at today’s pre-match conference in the Old Firm clash, he said: “Listen, I don’t know Barry but I know him as a player.
“I know he has gone in and will have a great connection with the supporters with his history at the club, his success at the club, he was a fantastic player for them.
“But for me if I look purely at the coaching side of it, 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 to Motherwell.
“I see the team go away and get a fantastic result in Fenerbahce.
“Then I see them lose 2-0 at home over 90 minutes but go on to lose the tie.
“I’ve seen the team change the system, absolutely, a really good tactical change to go 5-4-1 in Fenerbahce but I still see a lot of the same traits.
“You can probably look at Barry over a longer time if you are talking to me about coaching and managing, you are talking tactics and man management and professionalism and these things, that will be done over a long period of time.
“In the short term and him coming in as someone the fans can connect with, he looks very happy to be in the job, and taking the job – him and his staff.
“But in terms of coaching I see a lot of the same traits.
“Some very good performances, some inconsistencies, and Barry will see that and Neil [McCann] and his staff as well.
“Then over the course of time they’ll look to change that.
“But whether he was in for four games or 40 games a Celtic Rangers game will always be a tough game.”
If you’re only as good as your last game in this fixture, It’s worth recalling that Brendan Rodgers‘ Hoops actually lost their last Old Firm match heavily, going down 3-0 to Clement’s Gers at Ibrox in January.
Righting that wrong with a win on home turf on Sunday would see them go a whopping 19 points clear at the top with just eight games to play.
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