Rangers host Celtic in the Old Firm derby this weekend.
Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers believes Old Firm rivals Rangers have underperformed during his time in Scotland before going on to praise the impact of opposite number Graeme Murty, Sky Sports report.
The Hoops have reached a new level of dominance under Rodgers, winning an unprecedented domestic treble in his first season while going the entire league campaign unbeaten.
Rangers, who made their Scottish Premier League return last season, could only watch on as their rivals utterly dominated on their way to the treble and Rodgers admits he expected more from the Ibrox side.
“In my time here, I think Rangers will be disappointed with where they’ve been,” Rodgers told Sky Sports.
The Gers have seemingly bridged the gap a little this season though, with Celtic losing their unbeaten record and seeing their lead at the top of the table cut to just six points.
Graeme Murty, appointed Rangers boss until the end of the current campaign, has played a pivotal role in the club’s improvements and Rodgers believes the players are responding to his way of working.
“Graeme’s done an excellent job since he’s come in.
“Once he got the job permanently, I think he was able to stabilise everything. The players clearly believe in what he’s doing and he’s got some really good results.”
Murty has won ten of his last 13 games in charge of Rangers, and the club should be confident heading in to this weekend’s fixture considering their impressive performance in the last Old Firm clash at Celtic Park.
Rangers could only manage a third placed finish in the Scottish Premiership last year, but this season they look the most likely to challenge Celtic and comfortably beat last season’s points tally of 67.
Considering the financial gap between the two, perhaps expecting Rangers to challenge straight away was unrealistic, but without doubt the next step in Gers’ recovery would be to win a domestic trophy.
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