Brian Laudrup warns Rangers about ‘huge’ upcoming Celtic meeting
Rangers have been warned to be “on their toes” ahead of the “crucial” upcoming Old-Firm Derby by Brian Laudrup.
The former Ibrox favourite believes Celtic “are certainly showing their intent” with the moves they have made during the transfer window and has pinpointed the February clash.
The Dane contrasted the different approaches to the January window, with Gers opting for continuity compared to big changes at Celtic Park, and thinks that match will provide answers as to who got it right.
Laudrup wrote in The Scottish Daily Mail: “What’s clear is that Celtic are certainly showing their intent in January. They are going for it, that’s for sure. That has to keep Rangers on their toes.”
Focusing on the game, he went on: “Old Firm matches are always big but I just feel the Old Firm game on February 2 is going to be huge for everyone.
“If Celtic win, then the gap could not be any closer. It’s a game Rangers must not lose.
“And if Rangers win, they would open up a real gap and that could be crucial. It’s going to be so fascinating to see what happens.”
Differing strategies
Sitting six points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, the league is currently The Light Blues’ to lose.
And their near-perfect record since the arrival of Giovanni van Bronckhorst certainly suggests that they have the ability to maintain that lead through the rest of the season.
As the side doing the chasing Celtic are obliged to make changes in an attempt to overhaul the gap and have done that with their Japanese acquisitions Daizen Maeda, Yosuke Ideguchi and Reo Hatate.
But as Laudrup notes new transfers are never a sure-fire success, and although the Dutch manager is new to the manager’s roll at Ibrox he has experience of the unique nature of the Old-Firm games as a player so should not be caught unaware.
Laudrup himself knows plenty about what it takes to finish ahead of the other side of Glasgow having been a part of the dominant Gers sides of the mid-1990s.
If van Bronckhorst’s men can continue their recent form there will be nothing anyone can do to catch them, but slip up in a huge game like the one in February and everything could change.
In other Rangers news, an agent believes the manager knows this transfer target inside out.