Pršo awaits Glasgow showdown

By Alex O'Henley

Dado Pršo claims this weekend's final Old Firm game of the season is a must-win fixture if Rangers FC are to wrest the Scottish Premier League title back from defending champions Celtic FC.

Top billing
Rangers trail their Glasgow rivals by two points going into Sunday's crucial encounter at Ibrox and according to the Croatian striker, the side that emerges with all three points from what he calls "the best derby in the world", will be favourites to win the championship.

Decisive match
"This game against Celtic is the biggest game of the year and we have to win it," a determined Pršo told uefa.com. "Without a doubt this is the biggest and best derby in the world. It means so much to the fans and you can feel it before, during and after the game. It is unbelievable how many people come up to you in the street to talk about the game. That was a big surprise for me coming from France and there's definitely something special about this game."

Personal ambition
The 30-year-old has settled well in Scotland following his move from last year's beaten UEFA Champions League finalists AS Monaco FC, scoring 19 league goals so far this season including two against Celtic. However, Pršo admits he will consider the campaign a personal failure if he does not have a league winners medal to go with the Scottish League Cup medal he won at Hampden Park last month. "I will only be glad this season if I win the championship," he said.

Physical challenge
Although he has enjoyed his first season with Rangers, Pršo admits the physical nature of the game in Scotland initially took him by surprise. It has left him physically and mentally drained as the season enters its final stages. "After 14 minutes in my first game against Aberdeen [FC] my ankle had been destroyed and I had four stitches in a head wound," Pršo recalled. "I asked the referee at half-time why he had not given a foul and he said: 'welcome to Scottish football'!"

Endurance test
He added: "Now I understand his words because the game is much more physical here than in other countries. As we say: 'To get a penalty, you have to have a little bit of blood on you'. Technically, it is not the same as France, but believe you me, it's much harder physically."

International retirement
Those physical demands have prompted Pršo to think about his international future with Croatia. Conflicting stories have emerged in recent weeks as to his intentions after next year's FIFA World Cup in Germany, but assuming Croatia qualify from their current position as Group 8 leaders, the striker who has eight goals from 20 appearances concedes next year's finals are likely to be his international swansong.

More fixtures
He said: "I am 30 years old now and after the World Cup - if we get there - it will be harder to play for the national team as well as playing for Rangers in Scotland and in European competition. That's a lot of games so I have to think long and hard about that, but at the moment it looks like I'll be stopping after the World Cup."

Sunday climax
A final decision on that question can wait until next summer, but for now all of Pršo's attentions are focussed on Sunday's Old Firm game. "I know there are still four games left after that and anything can happen but winning this derby game would give us the confidence to go and win the championship," he said.