The 10-0 to Celtic prediction which gave Rangers fuel to land one on rivals' chin

Being written off before an Old Firm derby is one thing for a Rangers manager.

But being told you might concede TEN goals against Celtic in a Scottish Cup semi-final? That’s taking underdog status to a whole new level. But Mark Warburton says those were the types of crazy predictions being thrown at him in the build-up to a 2016 Hampden showdown.

Despite being tagged as no-hopers, his Rangers team defied the odds, beating Ronny Deila’s side on penalties after a pulsating 2-2 draw at Hampden. No one could have predicted the outcome. That Celtic side boasted the quality of Craig Gordon, Mikael Lustig, Dedryk Boyata, Kieran Tierney, Scott Brown, Stefan Johansen and Patrick Roberts. Current Parkhead skipper Callum McGregor came off the bench, along with Tom Rogic.

They faced an Ibrox outfit who were in a league below and relying on the likes of Rob Kiernan, Nicky Law, Dominic Ball and Nicky Clark. Even Warburton admits Gers had no right to win the tie – but they proved the doubters wrong.

Before today’s last-four clash repeat, Michael Beale’s chances of beating Ange Postecoglou’s champions-elect have also been widely dismissed. But former gaffer Warburton is having none of that and insists the task facing Rangers this afternoon is nothing compared to what his 2016 squad had to overcome.

In an exclusive MailSport interview, Warburton said: “The big difference is that we were in the Championship, not just a place behind them in the top league.The headlines before the game were about how many goals Celtic would win by. I remember one journalist saying that it could be double figures and that type of nonsense. It was a motivation for the players.

“I don’t think anyone gave Rangers a chance at all, outside of our camp. That’s