Virgil van Dijk ready for hostile Rangers fan reaction as former Celtic star primed for Ibrox debut

Bullish Virgil van Dijk insists the Rangers fans will not phase him as the Liverpool star predicted a hostile reception at Ibrox due to his Celtic history.

Van Dijk faced off against Rangers for the first time since leaving the Scottish Premiership when the Reds ran out 2-0 winners over Gio van Bronckhorst's side at Anfield, and will be hoping for for similar success when he makes his first appearance at Ibrox on Wednesday. The Netherlands international only faced off against Rangers once during his Celtic career, enjoying a 2-0 League Cup win at Hampden, but never experienced the derby day cauldron in Govan.

Van Dijk admits a hostile reception is likely to be on the cards when he makes his first appearance at the ground, with a full house expected for the Battle of Britain showdown. However, he pointed to previous fan fury that left him unfazed while on international duty as he explained why the Light Blues diehards won't scare him.

When asked about a potentially hostile reception, he told the Liverpool website: “The last time I got booed was when I played England in Portugal in the Nations League semi-final and we won. Hopefully if that’s the case and we win then I will have!

"But I don’t get affected by it, I try to play my best game and in order to do that the focus should be 100 per cent there. We know it’s going to be very tough over there with the fans so we have to be ready, but first we’ve got another big challenge coming up in the capital (against Arsenal)."

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