Celtic may be holding Scottish football in a double nelson at the moment but former Hoops defender Paul Elliott is urging caution ahead of the first meeting with old foes Rangers at Ibrox this weekend.

Brendan Rodgers’s team could move eight points clear of their Glasgow rivals in the Ladbrokes Premiership with victory in Govan on Saturday but Elliott is warning against complacency.

The big Englishman arrived in the East End from Italian Serie A side Pisa back in 1989 during a period when big-spending Rangers were beginning to exert their authority on the domestic scene and Celtic were the ones playing catch up.

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It was the start of the nine-in-a-row era for the Gers but Elliott never once had an inferiority complex in Old Firm encounters. It was hardly surprising, of course.

“When you’ve played against Maradona and Van Basten in Serie A, you can deal with it,” he said with a smile.

Elliott will be rooting for the Hoops again this weekend but the former Luton, Aston Villa and Chelsea defender admits Rangers could benefit from adopting a similar attitude he did when underdogs during his time at Celtic.

He said: "Rangers were the leading side back then, no question. But we never had an inferiority complex back then.

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"Look at the record books and Celtic actually did quite well against Rangers in games. We lost the Skol Cup final but I remember we put them out the Scottish Cup a couple of times.

"Our record was quite good so I don't think there was any complex. Celtic have had a great period but Brendan will know there is no room for complacency. He will tell them that they must be extremely professional.

"Rangers will compete and are capable of getting a result. It's the new manager's first full season and he's made some acquisitions. This is a great chance for Rangers to put a marker down and make a statement of intent.

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"If Rangers win this game, it could kick them on as confidence is 95 per cent of football. It’s the first Old Firm of the season and they will want to give their fans something to be energised about.”

Elliott had no regrets about swapping the Lira-laden glamour of the Italian scene for the Scottish top-flight and, in a sense, he sees parallels with his own journey and Rodgers’s renaissance at Celtic.

He added: I could have gone to Nottingham Forest or West Ham when I came back from Italy but I was thinking ‘why shouldn’t I go to Celtic?’ It’s a big club and my mate Mark Walters, who was at Rangers, said ‘get to Scotland, you’ll love it’. I was only 25 so for me it was a huge opportunity. It was the next step. Brendan has done his thing at Liverpool, he’s had his time out, he had opportunities to go to other clubs but he’s thought ‘let’s go to Celtic’. His legacy is already there now. You don’t recognise it when you’re there but you do when you’ve gone. It was journey for me when I left Pisa. Coming to Celtic was one of the best moves of my career.

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"I was delighted when Brendan got the Celtic job, it was perfect for him and the club. He’s only 44, and he will be back in the Premier League one day.

"Look at Roy Hodgson, still managing at 70. That's fantastic and Brendan can have the same longevity.

"He will be back in England long term but he's at Celtic doing an outstanding job.

"Without question, he can have the same impact as Martin O'Neill did, albeit in a different financial era.”

*Paul Elliott was speaking at a William Hill media event. William Hill is a proud sponsor of Scottish football.