Paul Lambert identifies key difference between Rangers and Celtic, while Ibrox hero slams away fans lock-out

Paul Lambert isn’t convinced Rangers “have the legs” to keep up with Ange Postecoglou’s runaway Celtic side ahead of this weekend’s crucial Old Firm showdown.

Michael Beale’s men will bid to keep their slim title hopes alive and mount a late surge for silverware with a much-needed victory over their city rivals and current holders at Celtic Park on Saturday.

Former Hoops captain Lambert is in confident mood heading into the side’s fourth meeting of the campaign and reckons the Light Blues don’t stand any chance of catching Postecoglou’s relentless league leaders as he identified the main difference between the two clubs at present.

While admitting Celtic are a stronger team, the ex-Scotland international reckons Saturday’s contest will be decided by the side who remain calm under pressure and play to their strengths.

He told the Daily Record: “Celtic have got a fluency about them. It doesn’t matter who plays or what system the manager is going to go with, they look as though they know exactly what they’re doing. That’s the difficulty for Rangers, they find it hard to keep up with Celtic.

“If you can’t run in the modern-day game, you’ve no chance. You have to get close to people and I’m just not so sure if Rangers have the legs to combat that.

“I don’t think you can ever predict how an Old Firm is going to go. Whether Celtic have got the 60,000 there and Rangers don’t have anybody, it’s a unique game. It’s whoever bring their A-game to the table and whoever keeps their calm heads tend to win.

“Rangers’ benchmark has to be Celtic, that’s the game they have to win, it’s your Old Firm rivals that you have to turn over. The only disparity I see here is Celtic are a better team than Rangers at the minute.”

Meanwhile, ex-Rangers midfielder Alex Rae believes Saturday’s derby clash will be less of a spectacle without the presence of away fans inside Celtic Park.

Both team have offered reduced allocations for visiting supporters since the Covid pandemic, dishing out a maximum of 800 tickets at Ibrox and Parkhead. Talks held last month agreed their neither side would take up their allowance for the upcoming two league matches on “safety grounds”.

Celtic are understood to be instigating discussions about the return of larger away allocations at games in the future and Rae feels that the return of fans would make for a better experience.

He told Grosvenor Sport: “I think it does yes and the players will definitely feel the same. Across the board, people want to see away fans at the game, especially an Old Firm.

“There’s something special about these games so to have no fans really contributes to the spectacle. It’s not healthy. The whole argument about safety doesn’t really stack up for me so I hope they can try and get some fans into the game.”