Ryan Jack hits out at 'disrespectful' Celtic striker and says Rangers will do their talking on the pitch

Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack has criticised Celtic striker Giorgos Giakoumakis for his claims that the Premiership leaders are better than the defending champions ‘in every single part of the team’.

Celtic go into Sunday’s Old Firm showdown at Ibrox with a three-point lead over their great rivals at the top of the table and it’s clear that Giakoumakis has provided added motivation for the Rangers players with his recent observation.

The in-form Greek international, who has scored eight goals in his last five games for Celtic, stated: “We showed that we are a better team, it is obvious, we showed that we work harder in the field and I think that we will win the championship. I think we're better in every single part of the team."

As Rangers look to make amends for their 3-0 defeat Celtic Park in February and draw level on points in the title race, Jack delivered a withering response to Giakoumakis.

Rangers midfielder Ryan Jack says the Ibrox side are 'right up for the challenge' as they prepare to face Celtic on Sunday. (Photo by Alan Harvey / SNS Group)

“I don’t agree with it,” said the Scotland international. “I don’t get that at all, those comments. I think it’s disrespectful to come out with that. But, look, it is what it is.

“We will go quietly about our business. We’ll do our talking in here, work hard here in-house and come Sunday we will be right up for the challenge.

“The last Old Firm, we let ourselves down. We knew it wasn’t good enough, it wasn’t acceptable the performance we went out and gave as a squad and as a team.

“We are behind, we know we are chasing. So on Sunday it’s important we leave everything on the pitch."

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our trusted, fact-checked journalism by taking out a digital subscription.