Brendan Rodgers issues fitness update on key man as 'attitude' claim made over Rangers star

The Premiership season is set for a nail-biting finish with Celtic and Rangers neck-and-neck heading down the stretch. The Hoops currently lead the way by one point, but the Gers have a game in hand, meaning they still have their fate in their own hands as the split comes into play.

Celtic are in action against St Mirren on Saturday, while Rangers will attempt to hold their nerve against Ross County on Sunday. In the meantime, we have rounded up all the latest news surrounding the Old Firm pair.

Rodgers on injury

Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers has issued an update on Callum McGregor’s fitness amid recent injury issues. “We’re still managing him. He did absolutely incredible to be available for the game because the timeline was beyond Rangers,” Rodgers has said.

“However, he worked so hard, he wanted to put himself out there and he’d only trained a few days coming into the game. This week’s been another good one for him. We just have to manage him, he’s not out of the woods at all, but I saw him training this morning and he looked really good.”

Rodgers added: “It’s also recognising he’s been out quite a long time. It doesn’t matter who you are, if you’ve missed five weeks of training you’re not going to be at your best football fitness-wise, but this week he’s showed up very well.”

Ferguson on Rangers man

Derek Ferguson has been speaking about Cyriel Dessers and his impact for Rangers. He told Ibrox News: “The thing about Dessers is I love his attitude. I’m even loving it even more because [vs Hibs] he missed one or two but he scored a terrific goal.

“The more I’m watching him, yeah does he miss chances? Of course he does. But he’s always in a position to score a goal. At times you’re saying, ‘hit it first time’ but he likes to chop back, but I think he led the line really well against Hibs for a large part of the game. He looks a more confident player, and I think that’s down to the manager as well. 

“The fans have been really patient with him. The Rangers fans, over the course of the last number of years, if you’re a Rangers number nine and you’re not hitting the back of the net regularly, they’re on your back. Yeah he’s scored 17 goals. He should have a lot more than that, but it’s his attitude, he’s always there. He’s there to miss them, and I think that’s important, but he looked really good against Hibs and he’s leading the line really well.“