The appointment of referee John Beaton to Sunday’s Old Firm showdown at Ibrox kicked off the talking points ahead of Rangers and Celtic clashing for the third time this season.

But there are plenty of other huge decisions to be made by Philippe Clement and Brendan Rodgers with debate over starting line ups likely to run right up until kick off. Celtic have won both Scottish Premiership meetings this season but can it be third time lucky for Rangers after two narrow defeats?

With the clock ticking down towards the huge match, Record Sport trio Gavin Berry, Andy Newport and Fraser Wilson sat down to discuss the big topics ahead of the Ibrox showdown in the latest edition of the Record Rangers podcast. Click the link below to listen to the full episode.

Andy Newport: You can see it from two points of view. Just from John Beaton’s point of view, we all know what he’s been through previously – he’s been through some horrendous stuff from just doing his job. Was it necessary to thrust him back into the spotlight? The SFA will feel they can’t have clubs dictating who takes charge of their matches. It was wrong when Rangers, behind the scenes, requested Willie Collum was no longer in charge to their matches. The SFA have to make a stand. If the SFA feel John Beaton is the best man for the job and it’s his turn then they should stick by it but I could understand if John Beaton asked to sit it out but clearly he’s taken the assignment on and if you have to back the SFA on that.

Fraser Wilson: The SFA like to throw wee curveballs in so I’m not overly surprised but the pressure is piled on John Beaton. I sometimes wonder about the wisdom behind these decisions. Let me get one thing straight – I don’t think it will have any impact on John Beaton’s or the officials decision making and to suggest otherwise is wrong and dangerous. I firmly believe our referees aren’t that way inclined but if he makes the slightest of errors then all hell will break loose. The only thing I truly hope and pray for is that we’re not talking about refs or VAR at full time.

Rangers have lost twice to Celtic this season – are they ready for this test, psychologically as much as anything?

Andy Newport: Rangers have shown a mental strength latterly I didn’t think was possible in the early part of the season because they crumbled at the first sign of adversity under Michael Beale. The team then is a pale shadow of the squad we have seen latterly. You can’t overturn a seven point gap and be meek mentally but the job isn’t finished. This is the crunch and the true extent of your mental strength will be put under stiff examination. They have the benefit of being at home without any away fans but that can work against you as we witnessed in the opening derby of the season. As soon as Kyogo scored, what had been an encouraging atmosphere turned toxic. It’s a unique factor of having no away fans – there is no target for the home supporters and they turn on the team.

Fraser Wilson: The big thing in Rangers favour is that they only need to win one of the two remaining derbies providing they take care of the rest whereas Celtic can’t say that. If they draw, the momentum stays with Rangers. The crowd has such a big part to play because 50,000 on your side is a huge surge of strength but if they turn against you then the legs will go and the jelly legs will kick in. It’s only a positive if they keep them on side. The momentum is with Rangers, they’ve looked steely under Philippe Clement.

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