Rangers-Celtic declaration as Nicolas Raskin says 'everyone is going to remember what happened here'

Rangers midfielder Nicolas Raskin believes defeating Celtic 3-0 in the final Old Firm clash of the season will give the club fresh impetus when the teams meet for the first time in the 2023/24 campaign.

Goals from Todd Cantwell, John Souttar and Fashion Sakala gave Rangers a comprehensive victory over the champions, who were far from their best at a raucous Ibrox. It was the first time that Rangers have defeated Celtic in six matches this season and Michael Beale’s first victory as manager over his Glasgow rivals. And while the Govan outfit have been clearly second best to a treble-chasing Celtic over the past 12 months, Raskin believes events over the weekend can imbue everyone at the club with confidence when the two teams meet again.

"The performance is something we can build on for next season,” said Raskin. “It's been a long time since we gave them a performance like that. In the [Scottish Cup] semi-final [last month], especially in the second half, we were better than them – we just couldn't score goals. So now we score goals, it makes a big difference to the team. And when you score one goal, two goals, it gives you trust, more power and more energy. We just continue to go. Even in the second half we had some good chances. They didn't create much. We had eight shots on target, they had one. We knew at home with the fans, the energy, it would be a different game. We knew what to do, the organisation, we had a plan. Stick to the plan and everything can come good

"Next season is going to be important for us. I know we have a lot to train on. Pre-season will be hard. We need to be that same team and try to do more and more. We play here [Ibrox] first next season so everyone is going to remember what happened here today. We need to take confidence and make sure we do the same performance.”

Nicolas Raskin excelled for Rangers as they overcame Celtic 3-0 at Ibrox on Saturday.

Raskin also hailed the Ibrox crowd, who made the stadium a cauldron with no away fans, for their part in the victory. “It was crazy,” the Belgian added. “It gave us so much energy. We need them a lot and when we get this energy you can see a big difference for the team and the way we play.