Rangers must show Celtic less respect in derby clash, says Laudrup

Brian Laudrup wants to see his former club learn lessons from their Viaplay Cup final loss to their arch-rivals this weekend.

Michael Beale was heavily criticised for his team selection in the showpiece event back in February. The likes of Todd Cantwell and Nicolas Raskin were both on the bench for the game.

Now, it's back to league action for the latest installment of the derby. 

A win for the hosts and the title is theirs. If Rangers get a result, then that sews some doubt.

And Laudrup reckons Beale's men need to show less respect to their counterparts if they're to emerge with three points.

He wrote in his Daily Mail column: “Celtic have history in their sights. With Ange Postecoglou targeting a flawless end to the season, the Parkhead club are pushing for a record Premiership points total as part of their bid to win a Treble.

“The question, then, is whether Rangers can trip them up on Saturday. I believe they can, but Michael Beale needs to strike a perfect balance between bravery and discipline when he takes charge of his third Old Firm game.

"In particular, all the lessons of February's hugely disappointing League Cup final loss must be learned if my old club is to have a chance of upsetting the odds.

“For Beale, the challenge ahead is huge. But the rewards for getting it right could be even more substantial in terms of generating belief about the next steps in his Rangers tenure. It will be fascinating to see how he goes about it. Bluntly, it's now or never in terms of the title race.

“With Celtic sitting nine points clear, this is surely the last chance for Rangers to inject a little doubt about the destination of the main prize. Almost as important, though, is the opportunity to strike a psychological blow ahead of the Scottish Cup semi-final at the end of this month.

“Another Celtic win will only add to the sizeable momentum already present within Postecoglou's squad and generate more questions for Beale about Rangers' ability to prevent them from completing a clean sweep.

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“My former team-mate Mark Hateley has spoken about a 'tsunami of pressure' potentially confronting the Ibrox manager in the final three derbies of this season. I don't think proper judgments on Beale should be made until after the summer when he's been able to reshape the squad to his own preferences and had a full pre-season to implement his ideas.

“That's fair. And, let's remember, Premiership results since he took charge have been excellent.

“Even so, I get what Mark was saying. There is still immense importance attached to each meeting with Celtic. And Rangers badly need to show more - much more than they did at Hampden.

“There was a lot of criticism from supporters about Beale's team selection and the approach of certain players as the first trophy of the season slipped away. That's life at a club of this size. There's no hiding place.

“In my eyes, they sat back too much and showed Celtic too much respect. They neither applied pressure nor were compact enough to deny their opponents space.

“This time, I believe Beale will go very high in phases of the game to try and unsettle Celtic. You can't do it for 90 minutes but, as we've seen in European games, there is a chance to knock this team out of its stride by picking the right moments to press hard.

“As I said, it all comes down to a tactical balance. It's like walking a tightrope. Everything has to be perfect to stay upright.

“Firstly, it's about keeping the game alive. Celtic will put Rangers under incredible pressure at times. That's a given. In February and September last year, it was all done and dusted inside 45 minutes as Giovanni van Bronckhorst's team completely wilted.

“There was a lot of criticism from supporters about Beale's team selection and the approach of certain players as the first trophy of the season slipped away. That's life at a club of this size. There's no hiding place.

“In my eyes, they sat back too much and showed Celtic too much respect. They neither applied pressure nor were compact enough to deny their opponents space.

“This time, I believe Beale will go very high in phases of the game to try and unsettle Celtic. You can't do it for 90 minutes but, as we've seen in European games, there is a chance to knock this team out of its stride by picking the right moments to press hard.

“As I said, it all comes down to a tactical balance. It's like walking a tightrope. Everything has to be perfect to stay upright.

“Firstly, it's about keeping the game alive. Celtic will put Rangers under incredible pressure at times. That's a given. In February and September last year, it was all done and dusted inside 45 minutes as Giovanni van Bronckhorst's team completely wilted."