Steven Gerrard jokes he is determined to become Neil Lennon's noisy neighbour as Rangers prepare to visit Hibernian in vital Premiership clash

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It's a footballing rivalry that was first forged in the English Premier League and later continued on European nights at Celtic Park and Anfield.

Steven Gerrard and Neil Lennon's paths have crossed at various venues since their first meeting at Filbert Street in September 1999 when Leicester drew 2-2 with Liverpool.

But their encounters off the pitch suddenly became a lot more frequent when the Rangers boss moved to Glasgow's West End last summer and discovered that the Hibs boss lived nearby.

Neil Lennon helped Celtic knock Liverpool out of UEFA Cup in 2003 on their way to the final

On Wednesday, the two neighbours will find themselves in opposite technical areas for the first time as the Ibrox side head along the M8 to Leith.

While there's a mutual respect between them, no quarter will be given as Gerrard hopes to get the better of his rival.

Victory would keep Rangers top of the table, but Gerrard joked it would also earn him the right to be Lennon 'noisy neighbour'.

'I competed against Neil Lennon for many years as a player and I know him well,' recalled the Ibrox boss.

Lennon and Gerrard will go head-to-head as managers when Hibernian and Rangers face off

'We used to go toe-to-toe on the pitch, and be at each other's throats and kick lumps out of each other because we were both winners and tenacious players. Now we are on the side of the pitch we're probably not much different.

'Over the years I've bumped into Neil at holiday destinations. And now we're neighbours in Glasgow so we often bump into each other.

'When I see him we have a chat. The respect is there. But hopefully I'm the noisy neighbour after the game...'

Two years before Gerrard inspired Liverpool to the Champions League title in Istanbul in 2005, Lennon's Celtic knocked the Anfield side out of the UEFA Cup en route to reaching the final in Seville.

Gerrard believes Lennon has moulded his Hibs side in his own image. He also knows how much it means to the ex-Celtic captain and manager to get a result over Rangers.

'Celtic got the better of us in 2003. They were very strong and put in a really good performance.

'Neil was a good footballer. Always right up for it, he was a winner, and he's taken that into his coaching and management style.

'He wants his team to be really aggressive and play on the front foot. That's how he was as a player as well.

'He loves winning and certainly gets an extra buzz out of getting results against Rangers, as we all know.

'Look, it's going to be feisty game. Hibs are going to be right up for it. Their manager is going to be up for it. But so are we - and so am I!

'It's an exciting fixture and there will be a great atmosphere at Easter Road. It will be a terrific challenge for us.

'I'm sure they'll want to knock us off the top. We have to be ready for that.

'I've told the players we can't afford to carry anyone at Easter Road. We need everyone - to a man - to be at it in a hostile environment.

'If you disrespect this Hibs team - or turn up at Easter Road and think it's going to be a breeze - you're in for a hell of a shock.'

Gerrard was watching on TV last time Rangers faced Hibs. A remarkable 5-5 draw at Easter Road in May underlined his desire to shore up his new team's back line.

'That game summed Rangers up at the time,' he recalled. 'They scored a lot of goals and were really good going forward. But they had a tendency to leave the back door open. They were vulnerable.

'We needed to tighten them up and bring some defenders in who really love defending our goal. That's what we've tried to do.'

Hibernian are eighth in the Premiership but a win would close the gap to the top three

This season only Celtic have conceded less than Rangers in the Premiership and Gerrard is now focusing on the top end of his team.

He wants more from his attacking players than they showed in Sunday's 1-0 win over Hamilton at Ibrox.

'We had 22 corners into the area, and a lot of them were good deliveries,' he said. 'We crossed the ball 40 times and had 15 attempts on goal. We created enough to win more comfortably than we did. So it's important the players learn from that and find that killer instinct.

'When chances are presented, go and finish teams off. If we can do that we can get players off the pitch and rest them for future games.'

After tonight, Rangers travel to face St Johnstone on Sunday before rounding off 2018 with home matches against Hibs and Celtic.

Gerrard expects his side to get stronger now their Europa League campaign is over and to remain in title contention when the winter shutdown starts.

Gerrard is happy to remain in the mix for the Premiership title with his side currently leading it

'If we're in the mix after the winter break I'll be very satisfied. The European run has come to an end and the fixture schedule gets lighter in the new year. We get more training days to prepare for the domestic games. There's also a transfer window where we can dip in and get a little help.

'We have to be humble and respect the fact there's not much in it right now, with only four points separating the top five teams in the league.

'We're happy to be top and we want to stay there but there's too much football left to play.

'There will be a lot of twists and turns between now and the end of the season. It would be naive to get carried away.'