Danny Rohl reminds Luke McCowan of league position ahead of Rangers against Celtic
Danny Rohl reminded Luke McCowan that Rangers are ahead of Celtic in the title race after the Hoops midfielder confidently claimed, "we know if we're at it, no team in that league touches us."
McCowan asserted his belief after the Parkhead side's 1-0 win over Stuttgart in Germany on Thursday night saw the reigning William Hill Premiership champions exit the Europa League play-off on a 4-1 aggregate.
Ahead of the Old Firm game at Ibrox on Sunday and with 10 fixtures remaining, the Light Blues are four points behind leaders Hearts and two ahead of the Hoops, who have a game in hand over both of the top two clubs and the Gers boss was asked for his response to McCowan's bullish comments.
"I think at the moment we are in the second position, they are behind us," said Rohl, who revealed Dujon Sterling and Ryan Naderi were back in training and will be assessed.
"They have at the moment, seven or eight defeats.
"I think in general it makes no sense to speak too much about the other side; we have to focus on ourselves.
"We want to win this game. I see my team is ready to take points, and then we'll see on Sunday, hopefully both teams try everything and I'm confident that we have a big chance of winning this game."
Rohl also noted that Celtic boss Martin O'Neill, in his eight changes to the side for the trip to Stuttgart following the 2-1 defeat by Hibernian at the weekend, one was to bring in Viljami Sinasalo for under-fire keeper Kasper Schmeichel with the number two turning in a fine performance as the Hoops doggedly defended a first minute lead given to them by McCowan.
Asked if he expected Celtic to take the same approach when they travel to Govan, the former Sheffield Wednesday boss said:
"I think so, I think when you see the line-up from yesterday, the starting line-up, then I expect some changes, it's normal, they try to use the full squad. "I was a little bit surprised after 1-0 that they're not trying to win this game, 2-0, 3-0, to have a chance. They keep the result until the end
"But yeah, it will be interesting as well, the goalkeeper position, what he will do now, let's see.
"But we are prepared, we’re focused on ourselves, we also have some interesting decisions to make.
"I know if everyone is available, it's also not easy for me in some positions, because there are more than two or three players who are ready for this game.
"It's a good situation. I like this, my players showed that they are ready, I think this is crucial, and yeah, let's see what it means on Sunday."
--
Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.