One plan Ange has been sussed by van Bronkckhorst! the Barry Ferguson verdict

Barry Ferguson has been making some incredible claims about tomorrow’s Glasgow derby.

Apparently ‘big Ange’ has only one way of playing while his opposite number has four systems that he can sometimes play during the same match.

A 37 match unbeaten run in the SPFL, that contains 32 victories, suggests that the Celtic boss has got more than Plan A to call on but if Ferguson and others view it that way it won’t cause the Celtic boss any loss of sleep.

Ferguson was mutually consented by Alloa in February a month after losing to Celtic in a Scottish cup tie, it seems unlikely that he’ll be back in the dug-out any time soon.

After the usual introduction hype about wishing he was playing in tomorrow’s derby, discussing Giovanni van Bronckhorst Ferguson informs Daily Record readers:

There were signs towards the end of last season that he might have got Ange Postecoglou sussed. Put it this way, the 1-1 draw at their place at the end of the season should have been a Rangers win and that tells me that the manager knows exactly how to combat Celtic’s all out attacking style.

He won’t go there looking to stand toe-to-toe with them. He’ll want his team to be nice and compact and solid from the start. Most importantly of all, he’ll demand his players match the energy of Celtic’s because these guys will be coming at them from all angles.

If Rangers aren’t prepared to go with them stride for stride, matching their runs, then it could quickly become a very long afternoon. But I really believe Gio has worked that out for himself. He’s a guy who studies every opponent and then comes up with his own plan for that specific opponent.

While Big Ange has only one way of playing, Gio has shown he can roll out plans A,B,C and D. Sometimes in the course of the same 90 minutes! So he’ll know what is required from his players. Keep it tight, withstand the early onslaught and then, once they’ve grown into the game, look to pick Celtic off on the counter because, let’s be honest, they don’t half leave themselves wide open at the back.

Brilliantly, Ferguson concludes his preview with:

What you need is a determination not to lose at any costs and Arfield brings that in spades. Look, even if Rangers do end up on the wrong end of a beating and fall five points behind, this league title is far from over.

In four head-to head clashes last season Postecoglou’s 90 minute record against van Bronckhorst was Won 2, Drew 2. A Scottish Cup semi-final was lost in extra-time.