View: Rangers need to make Celtic player eat his words after what he said about next Old Firm derby

Paulo Bernardo has claimed he wants to “repeat” his goalscoring performance when they face Rangers on 2 January and the Gers need to make him regret his words.

Rangers will already be eager to get one over on rivals Celtic after suffering a painful penalty shoot-out defeat in the last Old Firm derby, in which the Bhoys lifted the Scottish League Cup in controversial circumstances.

The Gers have now failed to defeat their rivals in seven straight Old Firm derbies, and Bernardo was on target when Celtic triumphed 2-1 at the end of December 2023, a feat he is keen to repeat when the sides renew acquaintances on 2 January.

Bernardo, as quoted by the Daily Record (26 December), said he is keen to repeat the feat at Ibrox: “That was good. I enjoyed that. It was a really good moment. Repeat it at Ibrox? Yeah, every game I want to score goals.”

However, if they can, they will have to do it without John Souttar who will be unlikely to return for the clash against the league leaders.

But, as if Rangers needed any extra motivation going into the game, they certainly have it now.

Philippe Clement needs Rangers to beat Celtic

While things have certainly improved in recent weeks for the Gers, success is often measured on a handful of things – silverware, European qualification and the ability to beat Celtic.

As it stands, Rangers have every chance of achieving all three of those things but January’s clash against the Hoops will provide them with their first opportunity and it is one they absolutely have to take.

The Gers are winless in their last seven Old Firm encounters and another defeat could make the situation at Ibrox “unsurvivable” for Clement who could face the axe if they fail to win.

While performances have improved since the start of the campaign, consistency needs to be maintained and Rangers simply need to achieve something this season as a trophyless season would be a sign of complete disaster.

If Rangers are to avoid that, they have the Scottish Cup, Europa League and Scottish Premiership as their remaining opportunities.

In other Rangers news, one player has been tipped to leave Ibrox in January.

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