Brendan Rodgers vows Celtic ‘will not soften up’ despite 14-point lead at summit

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has warned his players will not “soften up” ahead of their trip to Ibrox as he dismissed the relevance of their lead at the top of the William Hill Premiership.

The champions go into Thursday’s derby 14 points clear of their city rivals after Rangers dropped points at St Mirren and Motherwell last week.

Philippe Clement and his Rangers players have come under fire from supporters but Rodgers stressed a winning mentality and culture that restricted his team to two defeats in 2024 would ensure they prepare in the right manner for the game.

“Listen, we will always assume the pressure,” the Northern Irishman said. “We put ourselves under pressure in every game to win and to win well. So nothing changes in this aspect.

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“We always stay in a humble way to prepare for games. People look at the gap, but that doesn’t even come into it. We cannot soften up, we will not soften up.

“We perform for the next game because we know how much this game means to people.

“I went there last season, the first game, under pressure and all the things. Now I go there with 14 points… but there’s no change for us, the mentality is to go and perform and look to play our game.

“That pressure will always be there and especially a game at Ibrox with no supporters.”

After growing up in a Celtic-supporting family in Country Antrim, Rodgers knows how much the fixture means to supporters regardless of the context of the league table.

“I understand the game – I understood it as a supporter – and I understood it from the first game I had as manager in September 2016,” he said. “I’ve enjoyed every single one of them. The build-ups to them are always great.

“There’s always pressure of some sort. I hear the talk about a ‘dead rubber’. There is never a Rangers-Celtic game that’s a dead rubber – not in my book.

“You want to win every game and you want to perform at the very best level. For me, I love the occasion, I love the game – it’s an iconic game and one that I always want to win.”

Rodgers has generally won them, 16 in total, and suffered only one defeat in 20 derbies. Victory on Thursday would mean he has enjoyed a career-high 17 wins against both Aberdeen and the Light Blues, more than against any other club.

“It is where you are judged at this level, working at Celtic or Rangers – I think you are judged in these games,” he said.

“I saw Giovanni van Bronckhorst get to a European final and then lose his job not long after because he was losing to Celtic.

“That is a huge measure here of any manager and I’m fully aware of that, I always have been. Winning is very, very important. Winning against your greatest rivals is very important and the progress of your club is important.”

While Celtic’s form gives Rodgers a trust in his players and the process, he continues to feel the edge of the rivalry.

“I don’t think there is any less stress,” he said. “These games are there to be enjoyed. That is the beauty of them and that is what gives me the excitement every time they come around.

“I have got players who know what it means in this game, and they know what it takes to win, and they like I are committed to delivering that.

“So when you have that, you don’t relax any more, but I trust in this group. We have been together long enough now after those little teething problems we had last season and we see that consistency now in how we approach and how we work. So of course I go into every game now with that feeling.

“But it never takes away the pressure. That is always there, pressure is what a club like this here is all about. You can never look for an easy game, you have to perform well, because it isn’t just about winning, it is about performing. And these games give you a wonderful opportunity to do that.”