Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers once bought a house off of Steven Gerrard – but now he’ll look to kick the new Rangers boss out of his backyard.

The Celtic manager has had little time to meet and greet his former Liverpool captain since Gerrard took over the reigns at Ibrox, although Rodgers revealed that he had sent the Rangers boss a congratulatory text message following their qualification for the Europa League this week.

“I’ve got Jurgen [Klopp] in it at the minute,” smiled Rodgers. “He’s renting it out. I still own it. He’s a good tenant!”

Gerrard’s resurgent Ibrox side will turn up for Sunday’s lunchtime kick off with the wind in their sails having navigated a successful early course of the campaign.

By contrast, Rodgers has had more storm clouds to deal with over the last month than he is in the entirety of the two years which he has been at Celtic so far.

Dedryck Boyata and Moussa Dembele's situations underlined the sense of discord at the club while the Champions League exit was the first time that Rodgers hasn’t placed Celtic in Europe’s premier competition.

Despite the drama of losing one of his top players in the final hours of the transfer window, Rodgers remains insistent that his full focus is on coming up against his former Anfield skipper as both men share a touchline tomorrow afternoon.

“When you cross the line, you want to win,” said Rodgers. “There’s no question about that.

“He was an iconic player at Liverpool. I came in at 39 towards the beginning of my managerial career and Stevie was towards the end of his time there.

“But he was brilliant for me in his time there.

Gerrard will not be fazed by walking into the lion’s den tomorrow at lunchtime but Rodgers has told his former skipper that he won’t have experienced anything like Celtic Park for a game against Rangers.

“He’ll feel the sense of occasion, that’s for sure,” said Rodgers. “Steven is from Merseyside and as a local boy he experienced the whole Liverpool v Everton thing, or the Liverpool and Man Utd thing.

“But he’ll feel the raw passion. This game is different.

“There is also the aspect this time with the supporters more in line with the home teams, so we’ll see how that goes.

“I’m sure it’s an occasion he’ll really enjoy because it’s wonderful as a coach or manager to go in to these arenas.

“This is what football’s all about.”

There is an argument to suggest that this could be the most testing game against Rangers that Rodgers has had in his time at the club.

Gerrard is the fourth Gers boss that he will have faced and the 45-year-old believes that the Ibrox have improved significantly since the appointment of the former England captain.

“They’ve certainly got better players,” said Rodgers. “Stevie has done well. There’s good organisation, they’ve got that wee bit of spirit that comes with pre-season and doing well in Europe. That will give them confidence.

“They’ve good players. The boy [Scott] Arfield, I liked when he was at Burnley. [Connor] Goldson at the back, I liked when I saw him at Brighton. One or two of the others boys in there are good players as well.

“We’ll find out. I think I said at the beginning of this season that this year the challenges keep coming onto you.

“Aberdeen will be better as will Hibs and Hearts. And obviously we expect Rangers with their investment and Stevie coming in, you’d expect them to be better. But time will tell.”

Given the optimism around Rangers at the minute this is a game that has been seen in some quarters as the ideal way for Celtic to put down a marker.

A comprehensive win would be something of a double whammy for the Ibrox side since not only would it enable Celtic to start stretching the gap between the sides but would also have a psychological implication.

For Rodgers, though, it is about seeing the game in isolation given the embryonic nature of the season.

“It’s usually alternate years that you are home or away [for the first game] so for, for us. it’s our turn at home this year,” he said.

“I think whatever time and whenever you play your rivals, it’s always important, especially in the first game, to go and show your intent.

“Both teams are coming off the back of a very long pre-season stroke European campaign.

“Like I say, it’s the last of the games in this phase. It’s a long season and it’s still very early on.

“But our aim is just to get three points.

“It’s a case of doing the very best you can. I’ve always been respectful of every manager. Everyone who has gone in there has given it their best.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s Rangers, Aberdeen or Hibs, we want to do our best.

“These are very special games. I have been involved in 11 of them, there’s been a special atmosphere and we’ve played well in them.

“We aim to do that this weekend.”

Rangers will have only 800 fans at the game which will reduce their support significantly. The opposite will be true when Celtic travel to Ibrox later in the season.

“It will be interesting to see how the games are,” said Rodgers. “I didn’t see a lot wrong before with both clubs having that real extra level of support away from home.

“That really makes for the atmosphere when Rangers come to Celtic Park and likewise when we go to Ibrox with our supporters.

“Our focus is on the pitch but it will be a great advantage for us having more our our supporters.”