Brendan Rodgers on key Celtic message for Rangers clash and what he's most looking forward to
Brendan Rodgers has detailed what his key message to his Celtic players will be in the build-up to Saturday's cup final.
The Hoops face Rangers in a fifth Old Firm derby of the season and are unbeaten in the fixture so far. There's more at stake than most of the fixtures this time with the Scottish Cup trophy the carrot at the end of it and as we've seen over the years, the pressure of the occasion can cause some to crack.
If there were sending offs and flashpoints at Hampden on Saturday, it would be far from the first time. But the Northern Irishman explained how it's always his aim to calm his players down before these matches and drill into them not to play with too much emotion.
Appearing on talksSPORT this morning, the Hoops boss was asked if he will have to calm his players down. He replied: "Yeah, absolutely. I think that's the key message in the build up to these games. Our discipline in the games has been very, very good because they are so tense, there's so much at stake. But ultimately you have to play your football and that's always our case.
"We try to be really calm in our build up, focus on how we can win the game and not get too carried away with the emotional side of it. You want to play with emotion but always there has to be control in order to perform well."
Rodgers is looking forward to an Old Firm clash with both sets of supporters admitted to the ground. He came back into the club amidst their stand-off with Rangers about travelling supporters and it's something he's missed.
He added: "I think we're looking forward to that because, as you know, over the last few years there has been no away supporters at the games. So to have that equal share makes for a great final."
Finally, he admit that while it's important to get off to a good start, it's also not a disaster if you don't get the first goal.
"Yeah, ideally," Rodgers responded to that suggestion. "I think obviously we've scored the first goals in these games and gone on to do well. But it's not the be all and end all. If you don't get that first goal I think sometimes you can have success. But I think it's always important to get a good start if you can."