Camara: Rangers will provide stiff test

Rangers may be enduring a rollercoaster season but Mo Camara believes Celtic can forget about an easy ride in this weekend’s Old Firm derby.

The Celtic star is hopeful they can stretch their lead over Rangers in the Bank of Scotland Premier League to 15 points, repeating last week’s success when they dumped their rivals out of the CIS Insurance Cup.

But Camara believes it would be foolish to write Rangers off despite troubled times at the club.

Ibrox boss Alex McLeish has been told he must use the next three games, against Celtic, Porto and Hibernian, to transform the fortunes of the club before his position is reviewed by chairman David Murray in early December.

And Camara believes that means Celtic will have to work even harder against their Old Firm rivals on Saturday.

“Old Firm games will always be special,” he said. “This game will be very hard for us and we need to keep working hard.

“We aren’t looking at Rangers’ problems. It’s a big mistake if we think like that.

“We have to impress in every game and it’s not easy so we just have to carry on the way we did last Wednesday and work even harder.”

Celtic manager Gordon Strachan, who remains a close friend of McLeish following their playing days together at Aberdeen, knows what his opposite number is going through.

His debut in the dug-out was marred by Celtic’s worst European defeat in their history and an uninspiring start to the SPL season meant he quickly found himself under fire, before eventually taking Celtic to their current status at the top of the table.

Camara believes their own experiences this season means they can sympathise with Rangers – but only after Saturday’s game.

He added: “I think everyone is sorry for what is going on at Rangers at the moment because we had the same problems in the first couple of months at Celtic.

“Sometimes you have bad times but hopefully they make you stronger.

“Football is always like that. If you lose a few games at a big club like Rangers or Celtic, you are going to face pressure.

“The Rangers manager is a good guy, he‘s a good manager and he‘s a strong guy.

“He just has to keep doing what he did before and hope he can keep on winning - after our game, though!”

Like Strachan, Camara was written off in the early days before eventually finding his feet at his new club.

His performances have steadily improved and he now boasts a regular place in the top team but he insists the best is yet to come.

“I can definitely do better,” he said.

“Roberto Carlos, for me, is the best left-back at the moment and he has played at the highest level for a few years and he keeps on getting better.

“That’s what I have to do here at Celtic, keep trying to improve in every game that I play.”