Celtic face Old Firm rivals Rangers on Sunday in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals, and we have been speaking to a Gers expert to find out how things are going in the blue half of Glasgow.
The Bhoys have been perfect so far in the Premiership, but Rangers have shaken off a disappointing start to win their last four, setting up an intriguing tie at Ibrox, especially with no away fans present.
Ahead of the game, we have spoken to Inside Ibrox site expert Jack Cranmer to find out what's going on at Rangers ahead of the first derby of the season.
What is the current mood at Rangers? Are fans taking to Derek McInnes?
JC: I believe we are, there was cautious optimism at first when McInnes arrived. He was never going to play expansive, groundbreaking football but we believed he would make Rangers hard to beat and stable. The early season was anything but, and the Jablonec defeat was humiliating, but he seems to have found the right formula and learned quickly. The last four games have restored confidence and belief amongst the fans after winning each by a single goal and showing grit. However, that belief is cautious, as we haven’t faced a ‘big test’ yet such as yourselves or Hearts. So belief is growing but a bad loss this weekend could see it fade fast.
What has changed about Rangers this season after the change from Rohl to McInnes?
JC: The understanding of expectations is the main thing. Danny was a great coach and spoke well, but he just didn’t quite click with Rangers. He seemed to think, well I inherited a mess from Russell Martin and have got us up to second, and latterly third, that’s a good job. Whereas McInnes understands that no matter the state of the Ibrox squad or situation, you're measured against Celtic. Rohl wanted to win in a nice manner. McInnes just wants to win and doesn’t care if it's horrible on the eyes. I think the fans are responding to that now after four wins back-to-back.
If Rangers are to beat Celtic this weekend, what has to go right, and who has to turn up? Who do Celtic need to worry about?
JC: Emmauel Fernandez needs to concentrate, he has gotten away with some lapses in concentration against St Mirren and Falkirk, but he will be punished by the likes of Duran or Hassan at Celtic if he offers up a gift this weekend. That’s the only one I can really say as other than the goalkeeper, back four, and maybe Raskin and Gassama, the team is hard to call. Up front, it could be Kevin Kelsy, who we spent big money on, Ryan Naderi, who the manager clearly likes, or Bojan Miovski, who just scored an injury time winner, so other than Fernandez it is tough to say who needs to perform, as I don’t know who'll play!
Q. And just finally, with the injuries to Shankland and Chermiti, is there confidence Rangers can still be a goal threat? How does McInnes cope with those absences?
JC: Chermti has been replaced, but his physicality will be a miss, Kelsy has looked encouraging but he’s clearly still not up to speed of Scottish football. Shankland will be a miss, as even at Hearts he was a ‘big game player’ and scored lots of goals against both Old Firm sides. Thankfully, we didn’t sell Miovski, so we do still retain three decent options up top, even if none would be the first choice in an ideal world.
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