Celtic's Key to Victory Against Rangers: Mentality and Energy

Mika Baur insists Celtic will not beat Rangers on Sunday by trying to play “beautiful football and nice play” – and says the Old Firm will be decided by raw mentality and energy instead.

Martin O’Neill’s side were humbled 3-0 at Ibrox in the League Cup last weekend, a bruising defeat that has piled pressure on Celtic ahead of the rematch at Celtic Park in the Premiership.

This time, the backdrop changes completely. No Rangers fans. A full house roaring only for green and white.

“You could feel it's a special thing there [Old Firm game],” Baur said of his first experience at Ibrox. “It was like 50,000 people against you, you should handle that. And on Sunday it's completely different.

“We have 60,000 on our side, so we should use that. We need everyone.

“We players will give 100 per cent on the field and we need everybody else to get that energy back and win on Sunday.”

The message from the midfielder is blunt: forget style points, this is about survival and response.

“I've said a couple of times now, stick together again, get the energy level really, really high on Sunday,” he said. “You will not win it with beautiful football and nice play.

“Maybe you will score through it, but you will win the game on Sunday with a mentality and with energy and that's what everybody should bring into the match.”

Baur still wants Celtic to play their football, but he knows last weekend’s derby laid bare what truly decides these fixtures.

“Sure you want to win. That's the first thing and in a couple of months, no one asks how you won,” he added. “You want to play attractive football, if you want to do good with the ball, against the ball.

“Tactics are really important, but as we all saw last Sunday, it was not about that. It was about tackling back, to run back. It was about that and we should bring that on Sunday.

“You don't want to stop playing good with the ball.

“It's more about the energy, it's more about the mentality on Sunday, but it should be a good mix.”

After the noise and hostility of Ibrox, Celtic now walk into a different kind of cauldron – their own. How they harness that shift, Baur believes, will say plenty about where this team is really heading.