FOOTBAL: Rangers Graeme Murty wary of winding up Celtic before derby

The new Ibrox boss did his best to shy away from questions about the league leaders’ current form ahead of this weekend’s Parkhead showdown.

Brendan Rodgers’ men recently saw their 69-game unbeaten run halted by Hearts and have already dropped more points this term than they spilled in the whole of last year’s ‘Invincibles’ campaign.

But Murty was in no mood to add his name to the list of pundits who have argued Celtic have slipped back from the high standards they set last season.

The Ibrox side, meanwhile, have had their own ups and downs of late but Murty believes recent victories over Hearts, Aberdeen and Hibernian are proof they can handle the red-hot atmosphere they will face at Celtic Park.

“We’ve always got a point to prove against Celtic, not just this game,” he said.

“It’s the Old Firm derby - it’s one of the biggest and best games in the world - so any time that game comes around we have to be at our top level. The last thing I want to do is give Celtic any motivation by telling them they’re dropping off a level and really winding them up.

“What I’d like to say is that we know that when we preform properly we can give anyone a game.”