Rangers Women manager Jo Potter is looking forward to ‘the biggest game so far’ of the season as the side take on Celtic in the SWPL Cup semi-final.
The light blues take on city rivals Celtic on Friday night with a place in the cup final on the line.
Just two matches away from the first silverware of the season, Potter is confident in her team but knows games against the Hoops add a bit of extra spice to the occasion.
Rangers currently sit top of the league and have already defeated Celtic this season, but with a final place up for grabs she insists the game in Airdrie will be their biggest since she took charge in the summer.
She said: “We are confident, we know it’s going to be a big game and the Old Firm in a semi-final is always a tasty affair. We’ve prepared as well as we can and we know we are in good form so we are confident as we can be.
“We are in a good position, we have a few niggles but we are still assessing today and we will assess in the morning as well.
“It would be great (to reach a cup final), it will be just what the players deserve. I can only speak about this season since I’ve come in and how excellent the players have been after the transition they took on at the start of the season and finding a new way of playing under new management.
“The girls have took it and ran with it and I think it would be what they deserved to get into a final.
“It does feel like our biggest test so far, there is silverware at the end of the next game after this so we are only two game away from it so it’s a big game for us, whereas in the league you have another four or five months left when anything can happen.
“It’s the closest we have to success this season so far so it’s our biggest game so far and the players are treating it like that and it always means a bit more with it being against Celtic.”
Rangers will be up against an unknown quantity in new Celtic manager Elena Sadiku who is taking charge of her first game since replacing Fran Alonso in the dugout.
But Potter is adamant that they will continue to focus on themselves rather than worry about what the Swede will change at their rivals.
She said: “It’s difficult (coming up against a new manager) especially with her coming in so close to the game, we don’t know if she will change things completely or keep it exactly the same. But that’s not in our control, what’s in our control is what we do and how we prepare for the game and we’ve done that as best as we can this week.
“These are the games the players look forward to, and it always a bit of extra spice to the game (when against Celtic) but the players are used to that now and we’ve played Celtic enough times to know what means and what that brings to the game.
“So the players will be up for it and hopefully we can come out with a win.”
The SWPL semi-final between Celtic and Rangers will take place at the Excelsior Stadium in Airdrie on Friday night with a 7:35pm kick-off.
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