BRENDAN Rodgers has stressed he is unconcerned about the outcome of the William Hill Premiership match between Aberdeen and Rangers and feels that beating Dundee is far more important to Celtic’s title aspirations.
The meeting between the Pittodrie club, who are level on points with the defending champions at the top of the William Hill Premiership table, and their bitter Ibrox rivals, who are six points adrift after nine matches, in the north-east is being billed as the biggest game of the 2023/24 season so far.
But Rodgers is focusing fully on the league encounter at Parkhead tonight and stressed if anyone in the Glasgow club’s camp pays any attention to what is happening elsewhere they risk slipping up.
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“Obviously, it's a big game between second and third place,” he said. “But, of course, our focus is on our own. You can only look after yourself.
“I'm so pleased with how the team has been playing, how we've been functioning, how we've been working. And if we look and think of anything else, then that can take away from our performance.
“Listen, I'm sure it'll be a really good game. It always is, Aberdeen v Rangers, Rangers v Aberdeen. It's a big game. But we have a massive game at home to Dundee. And that's our only focus.”
“Obviously, one being consistency. Consistency for any team is always the biggest challenge. So, the result can be whatever. For us, it's about us focusing on getting three points, playing the football, entertaining our supporters, because that's ultimately what we can control.”
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He added: “The last five, six games have not probably been ideal for Dundee in terms of results. But Tony [manager Docherty] has done a fantastic job there. They lost their best player [Like McCowan] and their captain in the summer. So that can always make an impact. But Tony's got good experience in the game.
“How he's managed his club has been fantastic. You'll go through spells in this league where you maybe don't get the run of results. But for us, I always think it's a dangerous moment for a team, because they are looking for that big performance and you know teams will always get that extra bit against the champions and Celtic.
“So, we have to guard against that, make sure that we're right on our game and look to win, but obviously winning how we want to.”
