Rangers manager Philippe Clement expressed pride in his team's performance against Tottenham Hotspur in midweek, highlighting how they rose to the challenge of the high-profile fixture and probably should've went home with more than just a Europa League point.
That game marked the first of two crucial encounters for the Ibrox side this week, with the next test coming in the Scottish League Cup final against Celtic at Hampden Park on Sunday.
Rangers are currently on a nine-match unbeaten run across all competitions, boosting confidence within the squad. However, despite the positive momentum, Clement's record in Old Firm derbies leaves much to be desired.
Since arriving at Rangers in October 2023, Clement has yet to register a win over Celtic, with one draw and four defeats in their previous encounters. Only five goals have been scored during those games with Light Blues goalkeeper Jack Butland witnessing the ball go beyond him 11 times in the process.
No manager in recent history had gone as many as five Old Firm derbies without securing a victory - until Clement's arrival.
Now, ahead of their sixth meeting with the Hoops, the pressure is on the Belgian to break that streak and help Rangers maintain the "positive synergy" their gaffer has referenced over the past week.
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Asked whether he feels the pressure to finally get one over his Glasgow neighbours, Clement said: “No, zero. It's not about me. It's about the club. It's about the players. Nothing.
“It's not about me. It's never been about me in this job, in whatever club. So about that, zero.
“How do I feel about winning trophies? 200 per cent. About winning games? 200 per cent. That's what I want against every opponent, to do everything to win games and to do that together with the squad.
“The key on Sunday is to score, to be efficient, to defend really well. Celtic is a team who is really good on the ball with a lot of quality players.
“We know, they showed in the league, they showed in Europe. So we need to play a very mature game, well organised. But we need to play our football also and create our chances like we do in the last couple of weeks.
"Somebody told me yesterday that the amount of goals we scored now in the Europa League is the joint highest in the group stage until now with Rangers.
“So those are good things. We scored also a lot of goals, we need to continue doing that. You need to be efficient and grab your moments in those top games.
“That's crucial. In the top games you don't get 20 good chances. You need to grab your moments.”
