Rangers ended Celtic’s dream of winning a tenth league title in a row this season by dominating the Scottish Premiership and have already been crowned champions.
They also outperformed their Glasgow rivals in Europe by reaching the last 16 of the Europa League and now have a chance to end Celtic’s hopes of winning any piece of silverware this season.
The Gers will host Celtic at Ibrox in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup later this month and McManus feels the pressure is off Steven Gerrard’s side.
He believes winning the league title was the goal for Rangers and now they can take on Celtic with no extra pressure on them.
The former striker also indicated that Rangers are favourites to beat the Bhoys as they have shown no signs of letting up this season.
McManus said on PLZ Soccer: “I think it is a great draw for Rangers and their supporters who are still buoyed after winning the league.
“I think the pressure is off.
“If Rangers don’t win the Scottish Cup it is fine as their main objective was stopping the ten-in-a-row and they have done that.
“They have got a bit of a free hit, I feel and they have got Celtic at home who still don’t have a manager.
“And Rangers have shown no signs of letting up on their intensity.”
Ahead of the Celtic game, Rangers will take on Hibernian in a league clash next weekend.
