Old Firm derby not must-win for Rangers - Clement

Scottish Premiership: Celtic v Rangers

When: Saturday, 11 May Where: Celtic Park, Glasgow Kick-off: 12:30 BST

Rangers manager Philippe Clement is not convinced Saturday's trip to face Scottish Premiership leaders Celtic is a must-win encounter.

With three games remaining, the reigning champions lead their rivals by three points and Rangers have not beaten their Glasgow neighbours in almost a year.

Clement, who is targeting his first Old Firm victory at the third attempt, also said managers "envy" their players on derby days.

He said: "Those are the games when you are small boy that you want to play. If you see those games on television or in the stadium, you want to be on the pitch."

When asked if he thought a win was necessary to maintain title hopes, the Belgian responded: "I don't totally agree with that.

"If you have a draw, you still can become champions [but] we go for the three points."

Clement, who inherited a Rangers team trailing Celtic by seven points in October, said: "We're really close by showing our level to close this gap of seven points - it would be amazing, what nobody expected six months ago."

Past is not a concern to Butland

Goalkeeper Jack Butland said it is vital Rangers are "in the game" from the start.

In their last Old Firm encounter, Rangers were behind within a minute, two down at half-time and 3-2 down before a late leveller secured a draw.

"It's important that we're in the game to start and we're not fighting an uphill battle and starting the game in a poor manner," Butland said.

"The past is not a concern to me. For this group, it's about the next game and us wanting to be successful and trying to achieve something."

Butland is also waiting for his first win over Celtic but has helped Rangers concede the fewest amount of goals in the division so far this season.

"Of course, it's not just another game but it's another game in our season, it's an important one, preparations haven't changed," said the England international.

"We know from our experiences how we can be better but we've created chances, so it's an opportunity for us to go there with a lot of belief that we can cause problems.

"We have done that and we need to do that and be defensively solid and confident that we can take something from it."