CLINT HILL admits Rangers will have to rise to the occasion when they face Old Firm rivals Celtic in their next Premiership outing.

Mark Warburton’s side saw their title bid suffer another blow on Friday night as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Kilmarnock.

The Gers will now make the trip to Parkhead next month a point behind Celtic in the standings having played a game more than Brendan Rodgers’ side.

And Hill knows Rangers need to hit the ground running on derby day after seeing another sluggish start cost them dear at Rugby Park.

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He said: “The expectation is massive here. If you play anywhere else in world football and go away from home and get a point then people will be happy but that’s not the case here.

“A draw is a disappointment for us all. The tradition of the club means you have to win games and we haven’t done that.

“We’ve got to promise the fans more at Celtic – if we don’t then it will be a very, very difficult game.

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“We need to turn up and turn up from the first whistle.

“They are a good team. I’ve never experienced a game like that with the atmosphere and so I can’t really comment on it.

“But I imagine it will be tough, played at full pace and be full-blooded and we need to be at it from the start.

“I’ve been speaking to boys around the club and there have been bigger and better international players than me who have been blown away by the atmosphere and the occasion and have struggled.Glasgow Times: Clint Hill

“Obviously it will be new for me and if I am involved hopefully I can embrace it and put in a good performance with the lads.”

It has been a frustrating start to the season so far for Rangers as they have won two and drawn two in their first four top flight outings this term.

After drawing with Hamilton on the opening day of the campaign, Warburton’s side were 2-1 winners on successive weekends as they beat Dundee and Motherwell.

But the Gers were once again far from their best at Rugby Park as James Tavernier’s second half free-kick earned them a point.

Boss Warburton was disappointed with a slack first half showing from his side and Hill is determined to iron out the issues as soon as possible.

He said: “It was the same against Hamilton – and pretty much every game we’ve had a decent half and one that hasn’t quite clicked.

“We need to try and put our finger on it and learn over the next week to 10 days because we need to decent halves of football against Celtic.

“We can’t start this way against Celtic and hopefully we have a reaction. It’s so frustrating because at Killie we were 1-0 down and that allows them to sit in and make it harder for us. It’s always a struggle.

“We have a game at Linfield next week and that’s a good thing for us.

“The break has come at a bad time for us because we didn’t get a win going into it.

“Saturday will hopefully give us 90 minutes to iron out some of the things we need to work on.”