Josip Juranovic has hailed the Old Firm derby as the biggest in the world – and admits he can’t wait to experience it in front of a 50/50 split of fans in Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final.
Croatian international Juranovic admits he has never played in anything like the atmosphere generated when the city rivals clash and believes the tension will be off the scale when they meet at Hampden.
His previous experience has been in front of no visiting fans in his two Glasgow derbies, while only 700 Celtic fans were in attendance at Ibrox earlier this month as the Hoops won 2-1.
The right-back said: “The Rangers game is the biggest derby in the world and we can’t wait for it.
“We know it will be a tough game again, but we need to take care of ourselves and see where it takes us.
“The cup game will be different to the other games as it will be 50/50 in terms of fans at the game.
“It will be a new experience but it will be a great atmosphere and I can’t wait for it. I have never played three derby games so quickly as we will play them in the league after the semi-final.
“But we live for moments and games like that.
“We know how important it is and it might be the biggest derby in football and we know everyone is watching it.
“How much do I enjoy the derby? It’s hard to explain.
“It’s the biggest game for me and I love them.”
Celtic will go into the semi-final bursting with confidence but Juranovic is making no bold predictions.
He added: “The small details in these games can decide the result and we know that.
“We will look at them during this week and prepare for next Sunday.
“From the first minute we have to give everything to make sure we win.
“Are we ready for Rangers? Yes.”
