BRENDAN RODGERS says Alfredo Morelos will need no provoking when Celtic take on Sevco Rangers at Ibrox tomorrow.
Portuguese coach Pedro Caixinha has suggested the Hoops will go out to fire up his 21-year-old Colombian striker.
Morelos’ temperament has been suspect since he arrived from HJK Helsinki in June and the cauldron of a Glasgow derby could pile pressure on the frontman.
Champions’ boss Rodgers said: “I don’t think he needs any help with that, from what I’ve seen, watching the game the other night against Partick Thistle.
“We really concentrate on ourselves.
“I think he’s a young boy who has come into the country and he’s started his campaign well.
“He’s got some goals, he is only 21, and he wants to score goals. Sometimes when you’re young, you can get fired up.
“We always respect the other team and we focus very much on ourselves to get a good performance and a result.”
Morales was captured by the cameras having two kicks off the ball at a Jags player. but the referee took no action.
Rodgers added: “Rangers (sic) are obviously a different team with lots of new players and I am sure Pedro will be looking to them to obviously get the first feel of this game and, hopefully, play as well as they possibly can.
“I do expect it to be different, there are obviously different personnel. It’s a different set of players, so you would expect them to work a little bit differently.
“There has been a lot of change there and you have got to give the manager credit for that.
“He has obviously come in and wanted to change it. He has been backed heavily by his board to make the changes and bring in players like Bruno Alves who have great experience and have been around a long time.”
‘YOU’RE NOT RANGERS ANYMORE,’ ROCK STAR PAUL GALLAGHER
To get you in the mood for tomorrow we thought we’d re-post the launch edition of the CQN Podcast – A Celtic State of Mind, for you to enjoy. If you missed it the first time around you are in for a real treat.
You’ll love Paul Gallagher’s Celtic stories and will enjoy his digs at Sevco Rangers, specifically his forcefully stated views on the same club myth.
Paul is featured in the second half of the podcast if you want to jump forward…
The CQN Podcast is presented by Paul Dykes with Kevin Graham and you can catch up on all the subsequent podcasts on Celtic Quick News.
