Paulo Bernardo on the significance of Celtic beating the Rangers | OneFootball

No sooner has Matt O’Riley moved on before Arne Engels and Luke McCowan arrive at Lennoxtown to provide Paulo Bernardo with competition for one of the three midfield slots in Brendan’s impressive Celtic team.

Today it’s theRangers who are the visitors to Paradise with 60,000 Celtic supporters inside Celtic Park ready to roar the team on to a victory in the first Glasgow Derby of the new season. In doing that the Champions will keep pace with Aberdeen who won yesterday and opened up a five points gap on the latest Ibrox side.

Bernardo made his permanent move to Celtic in the summer, after protracted negotiations between his former club Benfica and Celtic, but the player was always sure that he’d be making the move back. In his interviews with the Celtic fan media, including The Celtic Star, the Portuguese midfielder talked about competition for places in the Celtic midfield and targeted taking Matt O’Riley’s place, inadvertently providing a giant hint that Matt was set to leave the club in the summer transfer window.

And so it transpired with Celtic collecting a record breaking £26m upfront fee from Brighton last week and there’s around another £4m of add-ons down the line on that deal.

With the deadline day arrival of Engels and McCowan, Paulo Bernardo will probably get the nod today to play against theRangers alongside the Celtic captain Callum McGregor and Japanese midfielder Reo Hatate who seems set to be the stand-out performer in Scottish football this season.

Callum and Reo seem set to be first choice starters for Brendan Rodgers this season with Bernardo and Engels the two who will compete for that third spot in Celtic’s midfield. Today though we’re likely to see Bernardo start with Engels and maybe McCowan making the bench.

Paulo spoke to the media ahead of today’s Glasgow Derby and recalled his first taste of the battle of the Glasgow giants last December when he scored the opener for Celtic in what turned out to be a fairly comfortable win for the Hoops. Paulo reckoned that his experience that December day ‘was great’.

He said, as reported by Daily Record: “It was my first game against (the)Rangers – and I know how big the game is. So I was very happy, even more with the win.  But although I have great memories of the fixture, this is a different match. It is another season and we need to do it again.

“I got messages from back home after the goal. People talked about that one – now I have to make them talk about the next because every goal against (the)Rangers is special. The derby is a very good game, the best we have here, so I am happy to get the chance to play in them.”

That five points gap that Celtic can open up on theRangers today is the target for the Celtic team who are focused on getting the three points. And speaking before Aberdeen won with a last minute winner at Ross County yesterday to make it four wins on the bounce in the Scottish Premiership, Bernardo said: “Yeah, for sure. If we win against (the)Rangers then we will move further ahead. But remember, Aberdeen are on nine points too.”

They’re now on 12, and that’s where Celtic want to be this afternoon as Bernardo reckons that the league is not just about Celtic and theRangers. “There are not only two teams in the league. Of course, (the)Rangers are a big club in Scotland but we are still playing for three points.

“So we have to approach every game the same way. It can be (the)Rangers, Hearts or Hibs, but they are all worth three points. At the same time, we know that in this one we will play against a very good opponent. And if we don’t win the other games, these points will mean nothing for us. We need to have consistency throughout the season.”

Bernardo also talked about Matt O’Riley and that horror tackle that ended his Brighton debut in under ten minutes and has resulted in the Brighton midfielder needed to go under the knife to sort the damage done to his ankle. No doubt Matt will be sitting with his feet up today watching the match on Sky Sports somewhere on the South Coast of England and roaring at his television screen.

“Matt was an example for me,” Paulo said. “He’s a bit of an inspiration because he was the best player last season and the numbers show that. He was always doing his job. He’s an example for me.

“What happened to Matt was very bad. I hope he gets better soon and can show his magic there again. It is not easy for him now but he has a strong mentality and I think he will do very well in England.

“Now that Matt has gone to Brighton, his place in the side is available. It is a position I can play in but there are others who can play there too. The squad is working very well and we have to compete with each other to make the team better. I have to work hard every day and play well in the games I have a chance to play in.

“We have a very good squad. Matt was a very good player for us last season and as a result he won the awards. But I think it about us as a team because when the team is together, we are stronger. We are strong enough to compete in every game. I work hard every day and need to keep doing that and try my best to succeed.”

The middle of the park is where these Glasgow Derbies are won or lost and Celtic’s midfield has been too strong for theRangers in recent times. If Paul Bernardo today alongside Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate, win that contest then there’s likely to be plenty of joyous celebrations all around Celtic Park.  Paulo though reckons there’s more to it than just taking control in the middle of the park.

“I think every aspect of the game can influence the outcome. If we dominate in the midfield but don’t score goals, we’ll get nothing. Everyone has to do their job and play for the team. Then we’ll be that little bit closer to winning the game. We play as a team, not just as individuals or just a midfield. If we all do the jobs to our best, we are close to winning.”

Bernardo came off the bench at Hampden on 25 May to help break the stalemate in the Scottish Cup final. That was obviously the last time the Glasgow Derby was played and the Portuguese midfielder’s offensive drive into the heart of the Rangers defence, getting a powerful shot away that theRangers goalkeeper Jack Butland could only parry into the path of Adam Idah, who like Bernardo came off the bench in the cup final, settled the match and won Celtic the cup as the Irish striker hammered the rebound home.

So against theRangers Bernardo has a good record already of making a big difference in the outcome of the encounters. More of the same today please, Paulo.

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