Brendan Rodgers releases his derby trump card, and the Celtics star who has created a “buzz” ahead of Rangers’ match

The league’s upcoming matchup between Celtic and Rangers will be very important.

John Kennedy claims that before of Celtic’s match against Rangers, Reo Hatate has been let loose.

On his injury return, the midfield player impressed in a 3-0 victory away at Livingston. Before Paulo Bernardo and Matt O’Riley’s goals put the Hoops one point ahead of their rivals, who still have a game to play, he set up the first own goal.

The trip to Ibrox is what Celtic’s next big test is. Assistant coach Kennedy believes Hatate looked sharp before a crucial matchup with Rangers, and he also gives special mention to goal scorer Bernardo. Kennedy stated: “The coach decided to bring him into the team right away because he was sharp from the start and had been working. For the past few weeks, he has been excellent.

“He worked hard and returned in good shape. It was time to let him go because we had the game last week to give him some minutes and he was pretty good. You can see, in my opinion, what he adds to the team, and even when he left, Paulo entered the game, created some excitement, and scored.

“The team is starting to take shape. With Reo back in, Cam has completed another 90 minutes, so we essentially have a clean sheet of health. We just need to concentrate on performing at that level and we should be fine heading into the final.

“I think we can see today that he’s in pretty good condition, even though he’s obviously not up to speed. It’s just the confidence he brings to the team as well.” He has that poise when he plays. You can see how calm he makes the game even on a challenging pitch.

“He provides us with a slightly different dynamic and sees the passes that the front players thrive on.” It’s critical that he returns. All that needs to be done is get him through this week and into next week’s extremely fit state.”