Danny Rohl knows what he was doing as Rangers manager already under skin of Martin O’Neill and Celtic
Danny Rohl may be getting under the skin of Martin O’Neill ahead of the latest Old Firm derby.
Rangers are preparing for another monumental clash near the top of the Scottish Premiership when they host rivals Celtic at Ibrox on Sunday.
Rohl‘s side head into the encounter with a two-point cushion over their fierce adversaries, but the third-placed Bhoys do have a game in hand.
The Gers are seven points back from surprise league leaders Hearts, with defeat for either side likely to prove fatal in their bid to win the title.
In the build-up to this match, former Sheffield Wednesday boss Rohl has thrown a few jabs at Celtic, something Tom English believes has not gone down well with interim boss O’Neill.
What has Danny Rohl done to rile up Martin O’Neill?
Before this latest Old Firm clash, Celtic’s Luke McCowan tried to say nobody in Scotland can touch them when they’re at their best, which hasn’t been seen at all.
Despite McCowan’s goal guiding them to a 1-0 win over Stuttgart in the Europa League on Thursday, Rohl responded by saying Rangers have lost twice in the league this season, compared to Celtic’s seven defeats.
The German questioned why Celtic didn’t push for more goals in the second leg of their Europa League play-off match after losing the first leg 4-1.
Somewhat cheekily, Rohl also speculated whether the error-prone Kasper Schmeichel would be dropped for Viljami Sinisalo in the Celtic goal.
O’Neill, who turned 74 on Sunday, responded by saying, “It’s quite extraordinary, an extraordinary comment to make, really. I’m glad he’s really interested in the make-up of my team, you know. He hasn’t been in Glasgow that long, has he?”
In English’s latest BBC Sport column, he wrote: “He [O’Neill] also called Rohl ‘a very young man’, which was tantamount to telling him to ‘sit down, you know nothing of this fixture’.
“He said Rohl was behaving like a fan. Long enough to know what’s at stake. And, possibly, long enough to know how to get under the skin of an old master.
“Talk is cheap, though. Talk wins you nothing. And how both of these clubs need a win at Ibrox. It’s an Old Firm derby, but not as we’ve known it for an awfully long time.”
Whether Rohl’s comments have gotten under O’Neill’s skin and paved the way to a Rangers win remains to be seen.
Do or die for Rangers and Celtic
On 15 February, Rangers secured a comeback 4-2 win over Hearts at Ibrox to close to within two points of the league leaders.
Rohl took over from Russell Martin in October, and back then, they were 13 points adrift. But rather than wilt after the Rangers’ loss, Hearts have won their last two league games to stretch their lead at the top to seven points.
Rangers, on the other hand, failed to beat basement side Livingston on 22 February, and Celtic slipped up at home to Hibernian, too.
Neither team can really afford to lose this match as the season winds down. If Rangers win, they will be four points adrift of Hearts, but if Celtic emerge victorious and win their extra game in hand, they will be within a victory of Derek McInnes’ team.
Next Sunday, Rangers host Celtic again, this time in the quarter-finals of the Scottish Cup. The two heavyweights are preparing to go at it hammer and tong, and both sides could take chunks out of each other in the process.
Rangers have home advantage, but anything can happen in an Old Firm derby, as the Gers showed in a 3-1 comeback win at Celtic Park in January back when Wilfried Nancy was in charge.
Either way, a massive win here ahead of the upcoming split could make Rangers favourites again.
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