Brendan Rodgers calls for focus ahead of crucial Old Firm derby

Brendan Rodgers has encouraged his Celtic players to try to block out the noise ahead of Saturday's high-stakes Old Firm showdown with Rangers.

The Hoops are five points clear at the top of the cinch Premiership but their city rivals have two games in hand and are heading to Celtic Park buoyed by a 17-game unbeaten run.

This weekend’s derby has clear potential to impact the dynamic of the title race going into the new year, but Celtic manager Rodgers has urged his team to ensure they do not get distracted by the pre-match hype.

"Avoid the noise if you can," he said in an interview with Celtic TV.

"It’s something I’ve always tried to do myself and I would say the same to players even though it’s hard because a lot of them are on social media and there is a lot of noise around the game.

"But we’re looking forward to it. These final days when you’re preparing, it’s just about getting the focus and concentration right. We’ll be ready."

Saturday’s derby will be Celtic’s eighth match in December and Rodgers is hoping his injury-hit squad can rouse themselves for their final two matches – Rangers at home and then Tuesday’s trip to St Mirren – before they get a chance to regroup in the winter break.

"It’s been a very, very long month," said the Celtic boss. "We’ve played a lot of games this month and with a number of players out injured, others have had to play more.

"But we’re down to two games now. We’re off the back of two good performances (against Livingston and Dundee) and we want to finish with two good performances and results and then we can recover a little bit, reflect and get ready for the next part of the season."

Celtic lost back-to-back league matches against Kilmarnock and Hearts earlier this month to allow Rangers to