It’s derby week as the Hoops get set to face their city rivals for the last pre-split meeting between the sides in one of just three fixtures before the two halves of the Premiership table bid farewell to each other for the final five-game schedule.

Leading the Celts into his second split as club captain, Callum McGregor will once more be aiming to navigate his side to another win over the Ibrox side here at Celtic Park.

The skipper sat down with Celtic TV for an exclusive interview ahead of the match as the Hoops go into the weekend nine points ahead at the top and on a 15-game winning run as part of a 29-game unbeaten domestic run.

Those are statistics the Celts fully aim to improve on come Saturday, but regardless of the magnitude of the derby clash, Callum McGregor and his team-mates will approach the game with the same due diligence they have employed for every single one of the games that contributed to those stats

He told Celtic TV: “We know it’s a big fixture, we know the importance of the fixture in terms of the supporters and what it means to them, what it means to everyone inside the building and everybody inside the club, but we have to treat the game like any other game in terms of preparation.

‘What we do going into the match, it’s always the same and we feel like we have a good template in terms of the training model and the way that we want to play.’

“I think if we can stay calm and bring all of these things to the game, then you have more chance of success than not.

“So it’s just about trusting the process and following that which has got you success previously, and just staying calm and looking forward to the game.”

Callum McGregor: We’ll stick to the template for derby clash