Celtic vs. Rangers: Danny Rohl aiming to end near-decade Old Firm run in Scottish League Cup semi-final

New Rangers head coach Danny Rohl will be aiming to end a near-decade Old Firm derby run when his Gers team lock horns with bitter rivals Celtic in the semi-finals of the Scottish League Cup at Hampden Park on Sunday.

The 36-year-old was appointed Rangers boss just under a fortnight ago following the dismissal of Russell Martin and he has won two of his opening three games in charge (L1).

After suffering a heavy 3-0 Europa League defeat to Norwegian outfit Brann, Rangers have since responded by winning back-to-back Premiership matches against Kilmarnock and Hibernian, beating the latter 1-0 at Easter Road on Wednesday.

Rohl is now gearing up for his Old Firm debut in the Rangers hotseat and he will endeavour to become the first Gers boss since Mark Warburton in April 2016 to win his first match in charge against Celtic.

Since Warburton steered Rangers to a penalty-shootout triumph over Celtic in the Scottish Cup, each of the last seven Gers managers to have faced the Hoops have failed to win on their Old Firm debut.

Former Rangers quartet Pedro Caixinha, Steven Gerrard, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Philippe Clement all suffered defeat in their first match against Celtic, while Michael Beale, Barry Ferguson and Russell Martin were all forced to settle for a draw.

Old Firm derby could bring out the “fire” in “calm” Rohl

Ahead of Sunday’s eagerly-anticipated League Cup semi-final, Rohl has said that he hopes to project “calmness” from the dugout, but he has admitted that he will not hesitate to show “fire” if necessary.

"I try to be a good mural in front of my group," Rohl told reporters on Friday. "If you are very nervous as a manager, the players look to you.

"I try to give them this calmness, to give them the belief and the conviction that we prepared well and we know what we have to do, and if we do this then it helps massively. For me, it is really important that I am still calm."

"I could be on fire sometimes at half time, if it doesn't work [out] or after the game," the former Sheffield Wednesday boss added. "When you are a manager at the beginning of your career, you will also learn [when to do this].

"I learned a lot in the last two years in Sheffield and I reflected in the summer, what I have to do, what I have to avoid. Every day it is about learning, preparation and from this part hopefully I make all the right things."

Rohl: ‘Derby day is more than just a game’

Rohl is still relatively new to senior management, but he does have first-hand experience of derby matches to lean on from previous spell at Sheffield Wednesday and Bayern Munich, working as an assistant coach under Hansi Flick with the latter.

"I can remember when Hansi Flick took over (Bayern), our second game was at home against Dortmund. We won 4-0. It is always a booster if you win such a game,” said Rohl.

"As well, in the Championship in the Steel City derby, I was also part there. I know what it means for the fans. This is more than just a game."

Discussing the importance of his Rangers team winning on Sunday, Rohl added: "A win would be a big result and we could cap a great week with three wins in a row, I think it would be fantastic.

"You feel it today as well in a meeting room. You feel it on the pitch and a dressing room. At the moment, the positive energy is really big, the belief is there.

"We watched the [midweek win over Hibs] in the morning. I showed them some clips of what we did, the effort we had in the game, willingness, character, good structure against the ball, and even in the second half, not always so much possession, but it doesn't matter because they could not really break our last line and it was a great job."

Rangers will be out for revenge against Celtic in the Scottish League Cup after they suffered a 5-4 penalty-shootout defeat to the Hoops in the final of last season’s competition following a thrilling 3-3 draw after 120 minutes.