BRENDAN RODGERS will go into tomorrow’s meeting with Philippe Clement’s Ibrox side at Parkhead as the most successful manager in Glasgow derby confrontations in history.
The Celtic gaffer has lost just once in 18 encounters while enjoying FOURTEEN triumphs.
The Hoops have also fired in 40 goals while conceding 12 during the jousts between the city rivals.
Rodgers admits he thrives on the special atmosphere of these unique confrontation and boasts a remarkable success ratio of 77.8 per cent which pushes him ahead of club legends such as Jock Stein, Billy McNeill and Martin O’Neill.
Jimmy McGrory was the gaffer when Celtic hammered Rangers 7-1 for the highest winning margin between the clubs. That extraordinary achievement was in the League Cup Final at Hampden back on October 19 1957.
CROWNING GLORY…Odsonne Edouard and Dedryck Boyata celebrate the Frenchman’s first strike in Celtic’s title-clinching 5-0 victory over Rangers in April 2018.
However, Rodgers came close on a sunny afternoon in the east end of Glasgow on April 29 2018 when Celtic were 5-0 up with 37 minutes remaining. Callum McGregor slotted one into the opposition’s net eight minutes after the turnaround on the day the hosts clinched their seventh successive title.
Odsonne Edouard (2), James Forrest and Tom Rogic had already netted by the time the current captain pounced, but the Hoops took their foot off the pedal to coast at five goals to the good.
It could have been a lot worse for the Govan club on the afternoon Celtic sealed their forty-ninth title.
A similar scoreline on the east end of the city tomorrow would be more than acceptable to the Hoops support!
