Gio van Bronckhorst has Rangers ready for Celtic storm after being swept away twice before

Gio van Bronckhorst knows the painful perils of getting swept away amid the Parkhead tempest.

The Rangers manager’s first experience of the derby din at Celtic Park left his senses scrambled and his head swirling as the Hoops dished out a 5-1 dismantling in 1998. There was another barrage on his fifth and final trip across Glasgow as an Ibrox player 20 months later as Martin O’Neill’s men whipped up a fresh storm that engulfed the Dutchman and his team-mates as Rangers were blown away 6-2.

He found it no easier to get his bearings on his first visit as boss of the club in February, with Ange Postecoglou ’s super-slick outfit tying Rangers in knots as they raced to a three-goal lead inside 45 minutes. So when the manager warns Old Firm rookies such as James Sands, Malik Tillman, Rabbi Matondo and Antonio Colak on the need to keep their wits about them, he certainly knows what he’s talking about.

But van Bronckhorst has also experienced the other side of the coin at the Hoops’ HQ. Winning away from home in these bitter clashes is rarely a stroll in the park.

Such victories require hard work, commitment to the cause and, above all else, focus. So when the bell rings shortly before 12.30pm today, the Rangers gaffer will offer one last word of advice for those players preparing for their first experience of the pandemonium that awaits inside Parkhead.

“Embrace it, enjoy the atmosphere but concentrate on your performance,” said van Bronckhorst. “That will be key.

“We have a lot of experience now in the team. To be able to get something out of the game we have to be concentrated and to be ready to push Celtic.

“(Handling the atmosphere) is very important because there will be a lot of noise as you would expect in an Old