Steven Gerrard will thrive on the abuse he gets at Celtic Park - and wants his Rangers players to do the same.
The Ibrox gaffer and his team will face a gauntlet of hate at Parkhead for the New Year derby against Celtic.
But Gerrard says he feeds off the flak from rival supporters and expects his team to do likewise.
The former Liverpool captain says winning at Everton’s Goodison Park in the Merseyside equivalent was better than victory at Anfield.
And he hopes his players experience a similar feeling this afternoon by picking up three points in the Hoops’ back yard.
Gerrard said: “Celtic Park is a hostile environment, it’s similar to Ibrox in that both sets of home fans make a hell of a noise.
“So we respect that. But I’m a firm believer that you should embrace and enjoy it. Let that motivate you.
“The opportunity to win there would be firmly in my thinking if I was a player. And it’s certainly in my thinking as a manager.
“The players have to be excited by that, not fear it.
“Of course, it’s very important to come out of the blocks ready and not get caught cold.
“Because Celtic Park is a place that, if you’re not ready and suffer a negative start, it can be tough to recover from it.
“But as a player I preferred Merseyside derbies at Goodison, by a mile.
“I was hated and abused there. But it felt different winning there.
“I suppose it would feel very similar (to win at Celtic Park).
“And I’d like my players to have that attitude because it would be fantastic for them to win on Sunday.”
