Kevin Mbabu on Celtic revenge mission for Rangers as Ibrox mega flop dubs enemy star ‘the complete player’

The Swiss ace was one of the infamous Newcastle Five who arrived on loan in Govan a decade ago

Kevin Mbabu

Kevin Mbabu hopes to beat the enemy for his Rangers pals as he prepares a special welcome for ex-team-mate Arne Engels, writes Craig Swan from Denmark.

And former Hearts player Mike Tullberg is now aiming to emulate his old club by getting on top of the Parkhead side and beating a legend.

There is no shortage of Scottish links in the Midtjylland side aiming to maintain their place at the top of the standings.

Right-back Mbabu spent six months at Ibrox in 2015 on a loan spell from Newcastle and, despite not playing a game, he forged some strong friendships which include old skipper James Tavernier.

He said: “Of course it will be special because as a former Rangers player, the fans from Rangers will expect me to beat the enemy, especially after what happened last weekend.

“So, of course, it will be a little bit special because I also still have a couple of friends in Scotland.

“I also have a former team-mate that plays there, James Tavernier, who’s the captain. I haven’t talked to him yet.

“But I think I will maybe get a message in the next few hours or maybe tomorrow.

“So I’ll definitely have to represent a little bit, maybe one per cent Rangers, and do the best that I can to get the three points.”

Mbabu will come face-to-face with his old Augsburg colleague Engels for the first time and said: “Of course, I will also send him a message later, hoping that he will be ready for the game. And hoping also that he will not be on my side [of pitch] because I will kick him!

Hearts’ Beni Baningime (L) and Celtic’s Arne Engels

“He’s a great player with a huge potential that I always praise since I’ve seen him in Augsburg. He has an excellent right foot.

“He’s a complete player and, hopefully, he doesn’t perform as I want him to usually. But he’s really a player that we can see in a big team in the next few years.”

Midtjylland boss Tullberg had a short spell at Tynecastle on loan from Reggina in 2008. Hearts lead Celtic in the Premiership and beat them last month and the gaffer said: “It’s a long time since I was in Scotland and, when I was, Hearts were not on top on Celtic.

“But, of course, as an old Hearts player, you always follow the teams where you played yourself. I didn’t play for such a long time because I was injured, but I had a great time in Hearts.

“I still have some friends over there with my wife and, when I was with Dortmund Under 19s in the UEFA Youth League game against Hibs in Edinburgh, I also met some of them.

“Of course, I’m happy about the situation for my old club to be on top, but for me it’s a professional game against Celtic and we will just prepare like we prepare every other game.”

Tullberg has noted the injection of energy into Celtic after the appointment of Martin O’Neill, but is not seeing this as any type of managerial duel.

He said: “They took in a legend, not only in the club, but in the country as well. It’s a manager who has seen a lot and done a lot with a lot of experience.

“A little bit of change with the change in the gaffer situation. Two wins.

Mike Tullberg

“The two games they had, especially, I think the biggest difference was the energy and the power. And sometimes it is like this.

“When I played and you change the gaffer, if you’re struggling a little bit, then it sometimes releases some energy.They will try to get a better position in the Europa League.

“But, in our case, even though we are a team from Denmark, we are thinking about our team and not speaking so much about our opponent. And that was also the approach when we played in Nottingham against a team from the Premier League.

“My way of thinking is my team 90 per cent and then the 10 per cent is the other team. And that will not change.

“I have big respect for the manager on the other side, but for me, it’s football. If it’s against Forest away or is it a Silkeborg game at home, it doesn’t matter for me.

“I have big respect for my colleagues in football, but it’s not about me going to challenge another gaffer. It’s about the players. It’s not a gaffer’s game, it’s a player’s game. Let’s not write a story about me challenging a gaffer. It’s about my players.”