Ex-Celtic midfielder Paul Lambert believes the system that Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou deploys gives the team a “fluency” that Rangers find it hard to compete with.

The Australian has overseen the development of a fast, attacking brand of football during his two seasons at Parkhead and Lambert says the philosophy is so finely tuned that it allows any player to come into the team and perform well:

“Celtic have got a fluency about them. It doesn’t matter who plays or what system the manager is going to go with, they look as though they know exactly what they’re doing. That’s the difficulty for Rangers, they find it hard to keep up with Celtic. If you can’t run in the modern-day game, you’ve no chance. You have to get close to people and I’m just not so sure if Rangers have the legs to combat that.”

Postecoglou has confirmed that Reo Hatate won’t be available for the derby on Saturday afternoon due to a hamstring injury, so someone will have to come in and take his place.

Both Aaron Mooy and Tomoki Iwata have shown their abilities when playing alongside the likes of captain Callum McGregor and Matt O’Riley in midfield, and you would be confident that either could slot in and make the necessary impact.

As Lambert says, a lot of that is down to the system that Postecoglou has developed. However, recruitment plays a role as well, as the manager has signed these players knowing full well that they can carry out what he asks of them.