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The National (Scotland)
The National (Scotland)
Sport
Ewan Paton

Ange Postecoglou in Celtic injury admission ahead of Rangers clash

Ange Postecoglou insists Aaron Mooy and Greg Taylor did enough to convince him they were ready for today's powderkeg derby clash against Rangers.

The game kicks off this afternoon in Glasgow's east end for the fourth installment of the fixture this campaign.

Reo Hatate is out injured in a huge blow for the Scottish champions. 

However, they were boosted by the return of Mooy and Taylor to the starting XI. 

Both players had missed the previous game and their involvement for today was doubtful.

But Postecoglou says they're raring to go, as he pointed to Celtic's self-belief.

He told Sky Sports: "Not as much as the game, but this last hour sort of goes in slowly for me. It's a big day, a great crowd, big build-up. 

"We realise it's significant because we're playing the team closest to us. It's a big derby game so that's where the significance comes from. 

"But for the overall picture, it's another three points if we win and we put further distance between ourselves and second spot."

On the injury front, asked about Mooy he replied: "He missed the last game, but he was close last week. He's trained all week and he's ready to go. Obviously, with Reo out, it's good to get him back in.

"There's no problem with Greg, he trained pretty much all week. 

"It's one of those games where everything is a lot closer than usual because everyone wants to play. They've convinced me they're ready to go."

He added: "You can't replicate a result but you can replicate a performance. That's what we're going to try to do. 

"We need to perform to the levels we know we can and we're focussed on that. 

"Results are a funny thing sometimes. They don't always reflect the game. We have to play well today against a good opponent. 

"We come into this game with excitement and belief built on the fact that things have been going well for a long time."

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