Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers delivers his verdict on Philippe Clement’s Rangers.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is fully aware that Saturday’s home match against Rangers will be a difficult test.

The Bhoys enter the game as league leaders, but the Ibrox side has been on a roll under manager Philippe Clement.

If Celtic wins later today, they will be the first team to defeat them since the Belgian took over.

They’ve come a long way since Michael Beale’s disastrous reign, which Celtic ended in September with a 1-0 victory at Ibrox.

Brendan Rodgers, Celtic manager, on Philippe Clement and Rangers

When asked about Clement’s work across the city in preparation for today’s game, Rodgers said [Celtic YouTube]: “I think Philippe’s done very well since coming in. You see he’s come in with experience and common sense in terms of setting up the team. All the players are working together, know their job and you can see they’ve benefitted from that. They’ve got good players.

“I’m looking forward to the game because it should be a football game. The last number of weeks we’ve played a lot against back fives and teams sitting low on the field. This should hopefully be a really good football game. In terms of Philippe, he’s come in and done very well.”

As Rodgers hinted, today’s game may be more akin to a European match for the Bhoys than the usual Scottish Premiership fare.

Rangers will try to gain possession and territory in the game rather than simply frustrate the reigning champions. While this is risky, it may also play to Celtic’s strengths.

However, the Bhoys must produce one of their best performances of the season in the process.

It will take a lot of effort to get the job done, but with a 60,000-strong crowd and coming into the game after a string of poor results, Celtic can hopefully show Clement why the Bhoys have been so dominant in Scottish football in recent years.

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