Too Early To Be A Title Decider

Rangers manager Walter Smith hopes Kenny Miller and Kyle Lafferty will both be fit for today's Old Firm derby. Miller will be heading the Germany to see a specialist next week in a bid to cure an ongoing hamstring problem and was rested for the midweek defeat to Sevilla in the Champions League but may be called upon to play against Celtic. Lafferty picked up a knee injury while on international duty with Northern Ireland which has been slow to repair and a lack of fitness could also be a problem for the forward, who has played for Rangers this season. Lee McCulloch has a flu bug and Kevin Thomson has experienced some pain in his knee but Smith hopes both will recover in time for the game at Ibrox.

Smith may be a veteran when it comes to Old Firm derbies but he sees no reason why he should have any advantage over Tony Mowbray. Mowbray faces his first game against Rangers since taking over from Gordon Strachan as manager at Parkhead. But, as Smith points out, he is far from a rookie as far as the fixture is concerned, having come up against Rangers on several occasions as a player with Celtic. Smith said: "Tony Mowbray and Peter Grant have had the benefit of being players in an Old Firm environment. It's not as though they are coming into the Old Firm games as strangers even though it is their first managerial game. The experience they have as players will help them going into Sunday's game."

Smith does not anticipate too different a challenge from the ones he faced against Celtic last season when the two teams meet again this time around, claiming Mowbray has not yet been able to stamp his own mark on the team he inherited in the summer. He said: "I don't think Tony will have had the time yet. It's only been a few months and, when you have new ideas and are trying to integrate new players, it takes a bit of time to get your ideas over. They have one or two new players who have come into the side but I don't think they are vastly different from the way they played under Gordon Strachan."

Mowbray has confirmed Scott Brown would travel to London after the game to see a specialist about his ongoing ankle problem. Brown will be in London on Tuesday, the day before he is due to fly out to with Scotland for next Saturday's friendly in Japan. Defender Andreas Hinkel and midfielder Paddy McCourt, who are both carrying knocks, did not train and will hope they have proved their fitness ahead of the trip to Ibrox. Mowbray is as close to being in a relaxed frame of mind as any Old Firm boss can be ahead of the game. A win for Celtic will take them seven points clear of Rangers at the top of the league after only seven games played, and even if they don't win, they will still be in front going in to the international break.

All the pressure is on the champions who have not bothered the scorekeepers in their last three SPL games and who were beaten 4-1 by Sevilla in the Champions League game at Ibrox on Tuesday night. The former Celtic defender is hoping his side will shrug off their disappointing 1-1 Europa League draw at home with Rapid Vienna on Thursday night to stretch their advantage over their rivals. Mowbray said: "We are in the position where going to Ibrox is a good game for us. We can open up a gap that will give us a little bit of breathing space. Even if we have a negative result, we are still top. But we will try and be positive and ask a few questions if we can. The occasion is there to be enjoyed, and we will be trying to get a result to make a lot of people happy."