Cameron Carter-Vickers insists Celtic have already shown they are the best and have nothing to prove at Ibrox.
But the American is clear his side’s burning desire for an Old Firm triumph isn’t cooled by title success.
Brendan Rodgers’ side head across the city on Sunday with the Premiership crown already perched on their heads.
Celtic have lost their two games against Rangers, but Carter-Vickers doesn’t entertain statements such as setting the record straight due to the fact his side have proven themselves the country’s best team by winning the league.
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‘It saddens me’ – Rangers star LEAVES club without chance to say goodbye and claims he ‘wasn’t afforded opp… Jonathon Moar 4 – 5 minutes He’s vowed to return to the club in the future Published: 9:50, 20 May 2025 Updated: 9:50, 20 May 2025 IT’S going to be a summer of big changes at Rangers. And one long-serving star has confirmed he’s on his way OUT of the club this summer. Rangers players celebrating with the SPFL Premiership trophy. 3 Leon Balogun won the Scottish Premiership title with RangersCredit: The Sun Leon Balogun of Rangers applauding at a football match. 3 He appears to have played his last game for the clubCredit: SNS With the US takeover of Rangers close to completion, a new sporting director in place and a new manager on the brink of being appointed, it’s going to be all things change at Ibrox. Alongside the off-field changes, there’s likely to be a significant amount of upheaval with regards to the playing squad as well. Loan star Vaclav Cerny already appears to have said his goodbye while other players’ contracts are coming to an end. One of those is veteran defender Leon Balogun. READ MORE RANGERS STORIES A popular figure with players and fans alike, the Nigeria international will turn 37 next month. He initially joined Rangers from Wigan in 2020 and went on to be a part of the side that won the Scottish Premiership title under Steven Gerrard in 2021. Balogun’s deal expired in 2022 and there was considerable surprise that he wasn’t afforded a new one. After a season with QPR, he returned to Rangers in July 2023 on a one-year contract. Despite injury setbacks and his advancing years, Balogun continued to prove himself a consistent and reliable performer. He earned another one-year contract but it looks like a third year will NOT be forthcoming. Kris Boyd says Rangers players were in SHOCK that ‘ghost goal’ against Hibs wasn’t given Balogun – who stated his desire to stay at Rangers just last week – appears to have confirmed his exit in an emotional message. The lengthy and frank post on social media also sees Balogun bemoan the fact he doesn’t believe he was afforded the opportunity to say a proper goodbye – going so far to say it SADDENS him. The defender, who has declared himself a Rangers fan, vowed ‘not to be a stranger’ in the future. On Instagram, Balogun said: “It’s that time again. “No caption could summarise all that is going through my mind as I’m writing these lines. “It’s been nothing short of an honour, a pleasure and a great, great privilege to represent this massive club – twice! “So many memories, good ones as well as a few tough ones. “But it’s the latter especially that made my love for the club grow even stronger. “The moments when we all stuck together and went again – no matter the disappointment or frustration. In these moments the club revealed what makes it most special: YOU. “The people supporting us week in week out, near and far, demanding, expecting, pushing us to do better and go for glory. “The people working for the club behind the scenes, meeting us with a smile everyday, doing their absolute best to contribute to the success of the club in their own way. You’re the heartbeat of the club and it’s been an honour to represent you! “If I would have known that the last two games of the season were my last for the club I would have made sure to say goodbye to all of you accordingly. “Unfortunately I wasn’t afforded that opportunity which saddens me as I would have liked to have walked round Ibrox one last time and returned all the love and support you’ve given me during my 2 stints. “I don’t know when I’ll be back, but I promise I won’t be a stranger. “Thank you for making me feel at home and appreciated wherever we met. “You’ve become more than just my club, you’ve become family. “And for that I will be forever grateful.” Read more on the Scottish Sun Rangers’ search for a new manager, meanwhile, is nearing a close. SunSport exclusively revealed last night that Steven Gerrard and Russell Martin are the two candidates going head-to-head to become the next Light Blues boss. Soccer player Leon Balogun in uniform, applauding. 3 Balogun posted his goodbye on InstagramCredit: INSTAGRAM/@LEONBALOGUN Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
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The drive remains sky high within the camp to deliver a derby victory because it means so much to the squad and the fans.
When it was put to Carter-Vickers that Celtic may travel with added motivation to set the record straight after the back-to-back defeats, he responded by saying: “Yes. I mean, some people might say set the record (straight). I wouldn’t personally use that kind of language because for me, it’s not just like one or two games in the season, but the whole 38.
“And I think we’ve shown over the 38 games that we are the best team. But, yeah, we definitely want to win the game next weekend and put in a strong performance because, at the end of the day, we know it’s something that the fans care about and we care about also.
“Of course we want to win. We want to win every game we play. And that’s no different for who it is.
“We’ll have a couple of days where we can celebrate winning the league and then our full focus will be on that game and trying to win it.”
Celtic will stride onto the pitch at Ibrox with title in the bag following their resounding 5-0 weekend win over Dundee United.
It is a 13th title in 14 years for the champions and puts them one game away from securing a staggering sixth Treble in nine seasons.
Celtic’s success may be frequent and relentless, but Carter-Vickers doesn’t feel the constant success will ever dilute his thirst for more.
Rodgers and skipper Callum McGregor have already outlined the quest to keep improving and win more and more silverware.
Carter-Vickers doesn’t believe he’ll ever tire of winning trophies as he explained: “I don’t think so. Especially with the league.
“When you get around the stage where you can clinch the title and get that tied up, you definitely look forward to it because it just shows the effort and all the hard work we’ve put in for months now. That’s kind of the ribbon on the achievement if you want.
“That’s why for me, the league is so special. You don’t win a league unless you have been giving it 100 per cent right from pre-season, which I’m sure if you ask most of the boys now, they couldn’t even remember what was going on there.
“There are still four games left to play and we want to finish strong, with the cup final as well. But I think we can be satisfied with our league campaign so far.”
