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Brendan Rodgers says the points gulf between his Celtic side and Rangers is irrelevant before Sunday's Old Firm derby.
Celtic lead the Scottish Premiership by 16 points from their Glasgow rivals, but Rodgers says the history of the fixture and its significance to supporters means there is no danger of complacency from his players.
Rangers won the last meeting 3-0 at Ibrox after Celtic triumphed in the first derby this season by the same scoreline then won on penalties in the League Cup final in December.
"For me, it's very straightforward to paint the nature of this game," manager Rodgers said. "It wouldn't matter if we were 16 points clear or 60 points clear.
"This is Celtic-Rangers. And it's not a game you want to lose. No matter how far in front you are, or how well you've been playing, this is a game that means everything to supporters, to their lives, to their daily life.
"It means everything to them. And especially on the back of our last performance."
Rodgers praised the way Celtic responded to the setback at Ibrox in January, but still expects his team to make amends at Parkhead.
"Like every team, we have to make it really, really difficult for Rangers coming to the game," he added.
"These are games to really enjoy and go and perform. We never performed anywhere near what the demand of the game was in the last game.
"So we're very hungry to put that right in this game.
"At that time, we were 14 points clear. The response from that game puts us at 16 points clear. So the response to that defeat was very, very good."
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Celtic lead the Scottish Premiership by 16 points from their Glasgow rivals, but Rodgers says the history of the fixture and its significance to supporters means there is no danger of complacency from his players.
Rangers won the last meeting 3-0 at Ibrox after Celtic triumphed in the first derby this season by the same scoreline then won on penalties in the League Cup final in December.
"For me, it's very straightforward to paint the nature of this game," manager Rodgers said. "It wouldn't matter if we were 16 points clear or 60 points clear.
"This is Celtic-Rangers. And it's not a game you want to lose. No matter how far in front you are, or how well you've been playing, this is a game that means everything to supporters, to their lives, to their daily life.
"It means everything to them. And especially on the back of our last performance."
Rodgers praised the way Celtic responded to the setback at Ibrox in January, but still expects his team to make amends at Parkhead.
"Like every team, we have to make it really, really difficult for Rangers coming to the game," he added.
"These are games to really enjoy and go and perform. We never performed anywhere near what the demand of the game was in the last game.
"So we're very hungry to put that right in this game.
"At that time, we were 14 points clear. The response from that game puts us at 16 points clear. So the response to that defeat was very, very good."
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