“It’s where you are judged at this level, working at Celtic or Rangers. I think you are judged in these games. I saw Giovanni van Bronckhorst reach a European final and then lose his job shortly after because he was losing against Celtic.” .
Rodgers is keen to improve on his performance in the recent Premier Sports Cup final, when Celtic won but Rangers came close until losing on penalties after a 3-3 draw at Hampden.
“That’s a huge measure for any manager and I’m fully aware of that, I always have been,” he said of Old Firm derbies. “Winning against your biggest rivals is very important and the progress of your club is important.
“You want to win every game and you want to perform at the best level. For me, I love the occasion, I love the game; it’s an iconic game and I always want to win.”
“I have players who know what this game means, they know what it takes to win and they like that I’m committed to doing it.”
Celtic captain Callum McGregor says they hope to learn from that close final at Hampden.
“We’ll take another look at the game and see where we can improve, areas we can exploit and try to cause them problems,” he said.
“The important thing in cup finals is to get through them and win, then you can fix the little details when you get to the next game. I think we’ve done that since that game.
“We want to do better than in the cup final, prevail in the game and do better than in the final.
“It’s a derby, you want to win, so regardless of where you are in the table, everyone wants to win.”
