BRENDAN Rodgers reckons Rangers cannot escape the psychological scars of the five Old Firm defeats which Celtic inflicted upon them last season.
In addition to a 56-match unbeaten domestic run in all competitions, Celtic haven’t lost in the Glasgow derby for five-and-a-half years, while their last visit to Ibrox saw them record a humbling 5-1 win – their biggest ever victory in Govan.
Regardless of the 11 summer arrivals which Caixinha sanctioned this pre-season, the Northern Irishman feels the fear factor is still there.
“It’s a new team,” said Rodgers. “In fairness to Pedro, for whatever reason he’s not liked what he’s seen in the group.
“He’s gone out and been backed really well by the board to bring in players of substance and quality. So, it’s a lot of change. But there will obviously still be scars there. There’s no question about that.
“This is a different game, a different season,” he added. “But if you’ve played six games and beaten an opponent five times and drawn one and been really convincing in a number of those games then it’s hard not to feel something. It’s only natural. Players are only human. In that type of scenario after the third or fourth game there’s a feeling. It’s hard to explain but there’s a feeling ‘Christ, what’s going to happen here?’. But we don’t think that way – we prepare for it as a new game and a fresh challenge.”
One symptom of that, perhaps, is significantly less title talk emanating from the other side of the city. Flashback 12 months and Mark Warburton and his players were unafraid to articulate their ambition to recapture their Ladbrokes Premiership crown. But, for all Caixinha’s opening day claim that Rangers had the best squad in the country, the Portuguese has been far more circumspect than his predecessor.
“I don’t hear so much,” said Rodgers. “That was something that was apparent when I came in. For everyone, it was. I certainly think the noise is different.
“But whatever noise comes out, that’s up to them. Our focus has purely been on Celtic really. But it’s certainly not as apparent. They have had good players coming in, they know where they’re at and they know they want to be better.”
Unlike their two jousts last season, when the Portuguese had to play with a hand assembled by Mark Warburton, this is undeniably Caixinha’s team. Rodgers admires this self-belief, a determination to do things his way, whether it ends successfully or not. But it also adds an additional pressure.
“I always say that if you’re going to go down as a manager, go down with your vision, not with someone else’s,” said the Northern Irishman. “And I admire him for that. I think he has tried to do that and that’s all you can ever do as a coach or a manager. If it works out for you, great.
“If it doesn’t, you will be told and you can be happy enough that you did it the way you wanted to do it.”
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