Steven Gerrard was impressed with the Celtic players’ fitness last season.
Liverpool legend Gerrard, who has been appointed the Rangers manager this summer, watched the Old Firm derby between the Gers and Celtic at Ibrox in March.
Celtic got the better of Rangers 3-2 at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership despite playing most of the second half with 10 men due to the dismissal of Jozo Simunovic.
Former Liverpool and England international midfielder Gerrard has stated that Celtic were fitter and stronger than Rangers.
Gerrard told The Scottish Sun: “I watched Rangers close up in the Old Firm game at Ibrox and it was glaringly obvious to me that Celtic were fitter and stronger on that occasion.
“It’s the easy thing to say ‘We didn’t get the luck’. But when you go into it in a bit more detail, if you’re a man up with that amount of time on the clock, I’d expect my team to run all over the opposition physically.
“I could also see signs of it in the last four or five games when I watched them as well. That’s probably a good reason why Celtic have been quite successful.”
Fitness an issue for Rangers
Gerrard was a superb athletic during his time as a player, a box-to-box midfielder of the highest calibre.
The Liverpool legend’s aforementioned comments make it clear that the Rangers players will have to step up their fitness.
The former England international’s comments are also a testament to the remarkable work Brendan Rodgers has done at Celtic.
Celtic have won the Scottish Premiership title for the past seven seasons, while Rangers have finished third in the league table in each of the past two campaigns.
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