Rodgers Urges Celtic To Show ‘Class’ By Giving Rangers ‘Guard Of Honour’ In Old Firm Derby

Rangers have finally broken Celtic’s nine-year hegemony of the Scottish Premiership and head into this weekend’s encounter 20 points clear of their eternal rivals.

Steven Gerrard’s men are still unbeaten at this stage of the campaign.

Rangers did not give Celtic a guard of honour when the two sides met two years ago, with the Bhoys already crowned champions, and it is believed John Kennedy’s men will reciprocate the “gesture” in Sunday’s meeting.

But Rodgers, who won two Premier League titles with Celtic before joining Leicester City, has urged his former side to put rivalry aside and applaud their opponents onto the pitch when they meet.

He told Sky Sports News: "My feeling is always that you should show humility and class and be a sporting team.

"I can never forget when I was at Chelsea as a young coach and in that first season with Jose [Mourinho] they won the title.

"I remember going to Old Trafford to watch the game that evening and I'm sure that the Man Utd players didn't want to do it [a guard of honour].

"That must have been really, really difficult but it showed you the class of Sir Alex [Ferguson] and showed you the humility of him.

"It was sporting but can also provide you with great motivation going forward. It's something that for me - despite the rivalry, despite how difficult it is - you should do and then use it as motivation."