Mika Baur Backs Celtic to Deliver at Ibrox

Mika Baur insists Celtic can head to Ibrox with confidence on Sunday as he prepares to experience the Rangers fixture for the first time.

The German midfielder could hardly have asked for a better build-up after scoring his first Celtic goal in Wednesday night’s 1-0 win over St Johnstone.

Baur’s second-half finish secured a sixth Premiership victory from six for Martin O’Neill’s side and he believes that run gives Celtic plenty of reason to believe they can book their place in the Premier Sports Cup semi-finals.

He said: (RecordSport), “It will be a special match. I’m just enjoying the win and my performance, and our performance – the three points. But everyone knows it’s a special match against Rangers.

“They’re a good team, it will be a tough game, difficult, but we will try our best to get into the next round.

“I think now we have good momentum because of the last matches in the league.

“We can be confident for sure. That’s why it’s important that we won on Wednesday, to have that confidence and to look forward to the Rangers match.

“And to go into the match really confident, that we know we have the quality and we are capable of scoring, capable of defending.”

Sunday will be Baur’s first taste of the fixture and his first visit to Ibrox as a Celtic player.

He has experienced derby football in Germany during his time with Dresden, but accepts this will be something different.

Baur said: “I really don’t know. For sure I expect it will be special, but I think I’ve never experienced something like that.

“I’m just looking forward and being excited about what’s happening on Sunday.

“Last season, I remember that I watched the highlights, but not the full match.

“I played two derbies in Germany, but it was during my time in Dresden. It’s also special.

“There are some really tough derbies, but I think you cannot compare it to something like Sunday.”

Celtic will also have to deal with the unusual situation of having no travelling support inside Ibrox.

Baur admits the players would rather have their own supporters behind them but believes their absence can provide motivation of its own.

He said: “We have to accept it. It’s not our decision. It should not affect us on Sunday, but sure, if you have some fans with you to give you energy, it helps a lot, but it’s not our decision.

“We accept it and try to do our best. It’s just a way of perspective. They give you energy if they’re in the stadium, but a situation like that gives you a lot of energy.

“You know everyone watches it in front of the TV, so you want to do your best, you want to win. Maybe it also gives you a bit of energy.”

Instead, Baur could find himself walking out in front of more than 50,000 Rangers supporters with the entire stadium against Celtic.

Asked whether he can handle that environment, the 22-year-old was confident.

“I hope so.

“I think I’m capable of that. As I said, I’ve never experienced something like that, especially if there are just fans that maybe hate you and don’t like you. But I think I can handle that.”

After opening his Celtic account in Perth, Baur could now be handed an opportunity to make an even bigger impression in his first Rangers encounter.