Efe Ambrose has insisted that Celtic always seem to have the number of their fiercest rivals.
The Nigerian who signed for Celtic back in 2012 from Ashdod in Israel, has been in the Scottish game ever since, having spells at Hibernian, Livingston, Morton and now with Queen of the South and he’s well versed in how thing work up here in Scotland with that big two.
Over the past few years now, the Hoops have pretty much ran the show against our closest rivals for the title and have beaten them so consistently they have cut our away allocation for Ibrox to virtually nothing. That’s another matter for another day and Efe has seen enough over this last several years now to suggest that the Bhoys have the upper-hand in these games psychologically, considering their record.
“Whoever wins this will show where the league title goes,” he said, as reported by Football Scotland. “This is the big decider. The tradition I have seen is that Celtic always have an edge over (the)Rangers and are able to beat them.
“This derby is not about football. It’s about the heart and the Celtic players understand that better than the new Rangers players. I know Clement has some good players and did well in Europe this season especially. But I still don’t think they know just how much this game means.”
Ambrose recalled his own days at Celtic Park fondly and recounted some of the great defenders he worked with during that period in his footballing career. The big African stopper added: “We had a great defence in my time at Celtic. Van Dijk, Denayer, Boyata, Lustig and Izaguirre, we were lucky to have so many top players. This weekend Celtic have to defend and attack like a team.”
Celtic will be buoyed by the return of key players ahead of this one, particularly the steady and capable American international, Cameron Carter-Vickers, who has had persistent injuries this season. He said: “Carter-Vickers is a joy to watch. He’s a leader, the most experienced and always an outstanding performer. Because of his injury we have not seen the best of him this season. But he’s still shown composure and leadership when he’s played. He helps to keep the younger defenders calm.”
Paul Gillespie
