NIR BITTON has vowed to deliver a Celtic swagger against Rangers - and prove the Hoops reign supreme as Scotland's top team.

The Israeli star can't wait to make his Old Firm bow at Hampden and has set his sights on a win and performance to make the Celtic fans proud in the first clash between the two Glasgow rivals in nearly three years.

He said: "Everybody is looking forward to it. It is a big game for the fans, for the club and there has been great competition between the clubs since before I was born.

"Us, the players, need to do the best to make the fans proud of us and to be the best team in Scotland.

"It is a semi-final, but it doesn't matter if we play against Rangers or any other team - we want to win and we want to go to the final and win a trophy. I remember the game Beram Kayal played in his first season. Everyone knows this is one of the biggest games in the world."

The Israeli has downplayed the tension surrounding the game and insisted football is not about battles or wars, but about entertainment.

Hailing from a country that has been afflicted by internal strife, Bitton has maintained that football should be an escape from conflict rather than the cause if it.

There are fears there could be unrest tomorrow given the added edge to the game due to the time that has elapsed since the teams last met one another in April, 2012 - and the events that have unfolded during those years.

Bitton, though, maintained: "Football is joy. It is joy for us and joy for the fans. Football is the best way to take the war or the fights away.

"When we go on to the pitch, we just need to make joy for the fans. We just need to enjoy the game.

"Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. But the most important thing is the health of the players and the health of the fans."

Former Rangers manager Walter Smith claimed certain Celtic players had disrespected the Ibrox side in the build-up to the game, an accusation dismissed by Bitton.

"Everyone expects us to win by four or five goals because we are the champions and Rangers are in the second tier," he said.

"But I'm sure it is going to be difficult. We have a lot of respect for them.

"In a one-off game, everything is possible. We just need to be focused. We don't need to think about how many goals we are going to score, about someone scoring a hat-trick or even two goals.

"No, we just need to focus on keeping a clean sheet. If we do that, everything will be good.

"I have friends and family coming over from Israel for the game, about seven or eight of them.

"They have all got tickets. It will be a special weekend for them."