Curious Philippe Clement ready as he ever will be for Celtic-Rangers debut as he laughs off snow cannon accusation

Belgian is all set for his first-ever Old Firm experience after inspiring turnaround in fortunes at Ibrox

It has taken Philippe Clement almost fifty years to experience his first Old Firm derby, so the wait since taking over the reins at Ibrox hasn’t been a concern.

Indeed, it might be viewed as a blessing since the 16 matches he has taken charge of to date have allowed him to reshape and reset a previously struggling team. Whatever their injuries worries – and they are abundant – they will still face Celtic in better fettle than might have been the case had this fixture fallen earlier in Clement’s reign.

Although clearly a significant clash, such has been the extent of Rangers’ turnaround in fortunes that a victory at Parkhead in this festive meeting isn’t as non-negotiable as it once seemed. Since Clement’s October arrival, Rangers have won more points (28) and conceded fewer goals (3) than any other Premiership side, winning nine of their ten league games under the Belgian.

Rangers manager Philippe Clement has yet to taste defeat since taking over in October.

Even if Rangers were to lose, their title hopes will still be in their own hands. They have played two fewer games than Celtic, with the recent postponement of the Ross County match robbing them of the chance to manoeuvre themselves into a position where they could go top with a victory over their rivals. They still have two league fixtures left against Celtic after Saturday, the first of which, in April, falls after Clement has hit 50. The manager knows there are many milestone moments ahead. “This is our next step in this marathon of 38 games in the league,” he said.

Clement stressed that not playing in midweek was a "negative", despite what some people claimed. He says he was aware of some social media memes, one of which was a doctored image of a 'tooled-up' Clement ensuring that the A9 remained impassable ahead of the match. “I have seen also some funny pictures that I had a snow cannon and things like that!" he smiled. "I don’t have! It was funny. No, we were all disappointed. We were on the bus on the way to the hotel and everybody was really focused and wanted to play.”

What it has done is given injured players such as Connor Goldson, who was taken off towards the end of last weekend's win over Motherwell, and John Lundstram, who was replaced at half-time of the previous game against St Johnstone, more time to heal. Both would have missed the Ross County match had it taken place. They trained on Friday and are in contention to feature. It does, however, look to be too soon for Borna Barisic, which is a big blow for the visitors, particularly if Liel Abada makes his Celtic return. The left back has missed the last two outings and did not train.

Many more will be missing from the Rangers ranks – several thousand fans, or at least several hundred which is the number the away section had been whittled down to before the recent complete ban at both grounds for this fixture. It remains a regrettable development, with memories of the lively scenes when Lawrence Shankland scored a late winner for Hearts against Hibs in midweek still fresh. The presence of visiting supporters is "good for football" acknowledged Clement although he stressed the Rangers fans will be present "in their hearts". Otherwise, it isn't very different from the partisan environment Rangers faced against Real Betis earlier this month.

Saturday will be Clement's first taste of an Old Firm clash.

"I don’t see a difference for my players because we have been to Seville and they were also not all behind us and there were also a lot of people," he said. "Of course, we had some fans there but the players go to play games and win games because they are ambitious. You have seen in the last couple of weeks an ambitious team in all the different circumstances. That is our only concern, not how many people are there or what they think about us. We know already what they think about us from before. So that is not important. What is important is what we do on the field."

It has taken Clement 16 matches to get here. Predecessor Michael Beale faced Celtic in only his fifth outing, while Giovanni van Bronckhorst had a run of 14 games before Rangers came a cropper at Parkhead, losing 3-0. Both men had already experienced Old Firm fixtures of course. Clement described himself as "curious" before his first-ever taste.

“When I was with the national team, Thomas Buffel was there and he played with Rangers and Joos Valgaeren was with Celtic," he explained. "They talked about these games and they had fun also and some quite good duels together also. It is a game with a lot of history. It is a big game and a lot of people are watching it, so that is nice for supporters, entertainment, all these things. But my love for my job is to enjoy moments with my players and with my staff and with my fans. They will not be in the stadium, but I am sure a lot of people will watch the game outside of the stadium. If we win there will be also a lot of joy in one part of Glasgow. I am doing my job for those things. I am not more excited to know that there are much more people watching the game on television. Maybe I am too old for that.”

He has not had the chance to attend the fixture due to his almost constant football responsibilities. “I started in the first team when I was 17 and have never stopped working,” he said. “Until 37, I played. Then I started directly to be Under-21 coach and coach of the defenders in Brugge, so it was a double job. I never in my life had time to do those things, to go to a game in the Premier League, or Real Madrid or Barcelona – those things you want to see one time. I had luck to do it as a coach and a player, but never as a fan. Maybe it’s something for the future – but not too fast.”