Chris Wilder admits his Old Firm crash course only served to reinforce his belief the collision of Glasgow’s big two is the biggest occasion in European football.
The Watford boss was a wide-eyed spectator during the Viaplay Cup Final in February and he’s adamant this weekend’s derby could define an entire campaign where failure isn’t an option. After being blown away by his Hampden experience which saw the Hoops claim the first silverware of the season, Wilder is convinced the outcome of Saturday’s Premiership clash could reignite the title race for Rangers as they look to haul back a nine point deficit as well as strike a psychological blow ahead of a Scottish Cup semi-final between the pair at the end of this month.
He said: “Rangers will anticipate a big performance on Saturday, they haven’t had a great record at Celtic Park but a win this weekend can alter the pessimism about their chances of pulling back Celtic in the league title race. It’s only been a few weeks since they lost a cup final to their fiercest rivals in their own city and the emotions which go with that will have lingered. It’s not something which is going to be accepted easily and neither should it be.
“We also have our own rivalries in football and we understand them very well. I’m not from Glasgow but I know the deal with the Old Firm rivalry historically and these are huge occasions for the people who care.
“This is the biggest derby, every fan in football understands the importance of their own derby but this is the biggest game around, certainly when you look around, it’s the biggest derby certainly in European football. That’s my belief but I don’t know how other people see it.
“I have a lot of friends north of the border who anticipate this game and I know how much it means to them. Edinburgh has their derby, there’s one in Manchester and Liverpool but when you put everything on the table it would be difficult to argue against the Celtic v Rangers derby as being the biggest.”
The 55-year-old former Sheffield United boss was linked with the Aberdeen vacancy earlier in this campaign but opted to steer clear of that job talk as he told Record Sport his day out in Mount Florida is a memory he’ll cherish. He said: “The fact it was at a neutral ground and there was an even split of fans created a special atmosphere which will be in stark contrast to this weekend with only Celtic fans at the game which is a shame.
“I was in with the Rangers fans at Hampden and it was an incredible atmosphere, it was absolutely off the charts from any other derby I’ve been to in every aspect. The atmosphere building up to the game and all of the expectations was everything a derby should be and more.
“It was my first Old Firm game but I’d been threatening it for a long time just as many people do so it was a privilege to be there. I have pals who are Celtic fans and pals who support Rangers and they’ve been trying to drag me up to a game for a while. I also managed to have a few pints as John Fleck who was a player with me at Sheffield United had put a few quid behind the bar at his local so I’d like to thank him for that but I did give him about four contracts.”
Wilder keeps a keen eye on the Scottish game and he has been impressed by Michael Beale’s impact since he took charge at Ibrox and he believes the managerial rookie has no margin for error with the pressure all on the Light Blues to get a result at Celtic Park. He said: “I understand the school of thought that anything less than a Rangers win on Saturday and the title will be gone for them.
“It’s been difficult for Michael since he came in as he’s been playing catch-up on Celtic but his record has been excellent. It helps he worked under Steven Gerrard at Ibrox during his time in Glasgow but now he’d doing it himself the expectation level is still huge in every game to try to close that gap.
“Celtic have been relentless but Rangers haven’t been far off that as well. Michael Beale has been spot on since he arrived but everything goes out the window on Saturday as it will be ruthless in terms of there being no hard luck stories allowed or excuses.
“The bottom line is that you are expected to beat your local rivals. End of story. What makes this such an intriguing game is that Celtic already have one trophy in the bag, they have the league title within touching distance and will want to do the clean sweep which would be another incredible achievement by Ange Postecoglou.
“So there is arguably more pressure on Rangers to get the win. Whoever wins this game will then be heavy favourites to win the Scottish Cup semi-final in a few weeks time so there’s a hell of a lot riding on it.
“Rangers need to get out the blocks quicker than they did at Hampden and make closer contact. Celtic controlled the performance and ultimately the result so Rangers will want to be more aggressive and have more of the ball. Mentally does the scenario relax Celtic and put more pressure on Rangers? We will soo find out.”
There was also an opinion from Wilder on how the Old Firm would fare if they were ever to decant south of the border and Wilder has little doubt about their impact. He said: “There’s always a lot of talk about how the Old Firm would do in the Premier League and where do they stand and there will always be that debate. I would have no doubt they would adjust in one of the best league’s in the world.
“I watched Celtic in the Champions League against Real Madrid and they could have been out of sight in the first half. I take interest in players at both clubs and Rangers reached a European final a few years ago. This is a unique league and second is failure which is different to the majority of leagues which wouldn’t be the case if they were to come down here.”
