Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has admitted that he does not look at the clash against Rangers on Sunday as a dugout battle between Steven Gerrard and himself, and says it is purely down to the players at Celtic Park.
Gerrard, who was the captain of Rodgers’ Liverpool during his playing days, is yet to taste defeat as head coach of the Gers, who are preparing for the derby on Sunday against the Scottish champions.
The duo came close to winning Liverpool’s first ever Premier League title in 2013/14, but fell just short of eventual winners Manchester City towards the end of the campaign.
Rodgers, who believes that Gerrard has brought with him a positive change at Ibrox, commented that the derby will not just be about the managers, and that the spotlight should be on the players who take to the field for both teams on Sunday.
“I'm looking forward to seeing Steven. He’s a good guy, we worked well together at Liverpool”, Rodgers told Celtic TV.
“I don’t necessarily see it as the dugout battle. I see it as the teams on the field, you know whatever the culture of the manager is there at the time, I respect it.
“It’s really about looking at them, how they play and then obviously preparing the team in order to win the game”, he added.
Both Celtic and Rangers have given Scottish football a boost by qualifying for the group stage of the Europa League.
