Celtic Prepares for First Derby of the Season at Ibrox
By the time Celtic’s players left Lennoxtown on Friday, the mood was clear enough: this is no ordinary cup tie coming over the horizon.
The first derby of the season awaits on Sunday, a noon kick-off at Ibrox in the League Cup quarter-final, and training carried the edge you would expect when a perfect domestic record meets its sternest examination.
No distractions, no disguises. Just a squad drilling patterns, sharpening reactions and treating every small-sided game as if it carried a place at Ibrox on the teamsheet.
The stakes are obvious. Celtic have started the domestic campaign with a 100 per cent record, and a quarter-final against Rangers offers both a shot at a semi-final and an early chance to plant a flag in the city’s balance of power. A win at Ibrox in September can echo for months.
Lennoxtown, usually a place of routine, felt like a staging ground. Players moved through phases at full tilt, staff constantly talking, adjusting positions, demanding tempo. The work spoke for itself: this is preparation for a derby, not just another step in the calendar.
On Sunday, the noise, colour and hostility of Ibrox will replace the controlled intensity of the training ground. The margin for error will shrink, the speed of everything will rise, and that immaculate domestic record will either harden into something more imposing or finally come under serious strain.
Celtic arrive unbeaten, confident and fully aware of what waits for them across the city. Now they have to prove that Lennoxtown’s hard edges can survive the sharpest fixture of their season so far.
