Brian Laudrup says Michael Beale has to win at Parkhead on Saturday to give his players the belief they can salvage the season.
The Light Blues lost heavily on their last visit when they were thumped 4-0 back on September 3 and were also defeated 2-1 in the Viaplay Cup Final in February which has set up Celtic for the opportunity of cleaning up all three major trophies this season.
They would cut the gap at the top to six points with a win at Parkhead which will be full of home fans only and that may plant some seeds of title doubt in Celtic minds, but Laudrup says more importantly it would have a knock-on effect for the Hampden showdown between the sides on April 29 when Rangers will try to stop Celtic from winning the Treble.
READ MORE: Rangers told how to hurt Celtic as Hoops hero offers a blueprint for success in derby
The Danish superstar, who starred for Rangers in the nine in a row era, told the Daily Mail: “With Celtic sitting nine points clear, this is surely the last chance for Rangers to inject a little doubt about the destination of the main prize. Almost as important, though, is the opportunity to strike a psychological blow ahead of the Scottish Cup semi-final at the end of this month.
“Another Celtic win will only add to the sizeable momentum already present within Ange Postecoglou's squad and generate more questions for Michael Beale about Rangers' ability to prevent them from completing a clean sweep.
“My former team-mate Mark Hateley has spoken about a 'tsunami of pressure' potentially confronting the Ibrox manager in the final three derbies of this season. I don't think proper judgments on Beale should be made until after the summer when he's been able to reshape the squad to his own preferences and had a full pre-season to implement his ideas.
“That's fair. And, let's remember, Premiership results since he took charge have been excellent. Even so, I get what Mark was saying. There is still immense importance attached to each meeting with Celtic. And Rangers badly need to show more - much more than they did at Hampden."
READ NEXT:
- Victor Wanyama Celtic gym quip over lifting trophies to Alistair Johnston ahead of Hoops transfer
- Rangers coach 'headbutts' Celtic women's boss branding him 'little rat' in explosive derby scenes
