Celtic captain Callum McGregor has said that his team are as hungry as ever to win the Old Firm derby on Thursday, despite their prolonged dominance in the fixture. (More Football News)
Brendan Rodgers' side go to Ibrox with a lead of 14 points over second-placed Rangers in the Scottish Premiers♕hip, who have gone seven Old Firm games without a victory.
Celtic also beat Rangers in both🦩 of the major domestic cup finals in 2024, while their only defeat to their city rivals in the last 14 meetings came after they had🌊 already won the league title in 2023.
"We wa൩nt to win every game, especially when the big ones ♛come around. You want to win them as well," said McGregor.
"That's where you're judged. Y🧸ou're judged🌜 on these games, you're judged on the success rate of these games.
"That's where we w😼ant to be as a squad when we arrive i༺nto the big moments.
"I keep saying this to the players👍, it has to become normal for us to arrive in big moments and deliver and perform. Thursday is just another test for us."
Celtic were pushed all the way by Rangers in December's Scottish League C♛up final, which ended 3-3 before Celtic won 5-4 on penalties.
They come into this match in fine form as well, having netted eight goals𝔉 in their last two matꦯches, while they are on an 18-match unbeaten run in all competitions.
"Gen🔯erally, the way that we want to play is the same every week and just adding layers all the time," said McGregor.
The midfielder added: "So, we'll look ✨at the game and see where we can be better, see where we can maybe 🦩exploit that sort of mid-pitch block from Rangers and see the combinations that we need to get through that bit of the pitch and try and cause some problems."
When asked whether the respec🎐tive league positions of the clubs – and the gap between them – will have a bearing on Thursday's game, McGregor suggested it would not.
"No, never," he said. "It's a derby game. You want to win. So, regardless of wher🦩e the standings are on the table, everybody wants to win. We want to win.
"Rangers will want to win. Both sets of supporജt💛ers will want to win. So, there's always everything on these games."
