Ibrox side Glasgow Rangers welcome Celtic to their home on Saturday.
Declan John has told The Glasgow Evening Times that although he believes Patrick Roberts did “quite well” for Celtic last season, the Rangers new boy doesn’t fear him.
Ibrox plays host on Saturday as Celtic and Rangers square off for what will be the first Old Firm derby of the season.
John, a left-back who joined on loan from Cardiff City last month, might not have expected to be thrown into the deep end so quickly but an injury to Lee Wallace on Friday has given rise to suggestions that he could get his first taste of such a big game this weekend.
The 22-year-old replaced Wallace at Partick for what was a steady debut, but he could be charged with the task of silencing the tricky Celtic man on Saturday.
And despite acknowledging that Roberts – re-signed by Brendan Rodgers after a very good season last time around – is a tidy player, John is adamant that he won’t be enduring sleepless nights at the prospect of marking him.
“I have seen him play before and he did quite well last season. We will just have to wait and see on Saturday,” he told The Glasgow Evening Times.
“At the end of the day, when you are playing in the Premier League at 17, 18 years of age, you are coming up against all these good players.
“It did take some time getting used to but I have come up against good players in my time. I am not really going to fear anyone that I play against.”
The young Welshman could also come up against James Forrest, who kept Roberts on the bench for Celtic’s 4-0 win over Ross County and scored twice.
Either way, it could be a long afternoon for the new man if he isn’t up to scratch.
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