Brendan Rodgers says Rangers have to beat Celtic in Sunday's Old Firm derby
Friday 9 March 2018 14:16, UK
Brendan Rodgers has increased the pressure on Rangers ahead of the Old Firm derby by claiming Celtic want to win at Ibrox, whereas Sunday's hosts need to.
Celtic go into the clash, live on Sky Sports on Sunday, six points ahead of Rangers and with a game in hand.
The Scottish Premiership leaders have won on their last three visits to Ibrox, and Rodgers says Graeme Murty's side have to end that run of defeats.
"Both teams are always under pressure," Rodgers said. "When you're the champions you play with the expectancy of the supporters, so there's always pressure.
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"The difference is, we want to win the game - which is important - but I think there's a need for Rangers to win. That's completely different. They need to win it to get a bit closer to us.
"After the game on Sunday it's (the league) still not completely over, there's still a lot of work to do. But if you can get a good result against your nearest rival, that's always important.
"We've had three really good results at Ibrox in my time. They're always difficult games but we've always stepped up to the challenge and played very well.
"Hopefully that will be the case this time as well."
Rodgers also claimed Rangers have underperformed since he arrived in Scotland at the beginning of last season, but did praise the job Murty has done since taking charge at Ibrox.
"In my time here, I think Rangers will be disappointed with where they've been," Rodgers added.
"But Graeme's done an excellent job since he's come in. Once he got the job permanently, I think he was able to stabilise everything. The players clearly believe in what he's doing and he's got some really good results."
