O'Neill taken aback by Rangers boss Rohl's comments on Celtic / Photo: ANDY BUCHANAN - AFP
O'Neill taken aback by Rangers boss Rohl's comments on Celtic
Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill believes it is "absolutely extraordinary" that Rangers counterpart Danny Rohl has commented on his team selection ahead of Sunday's Old Firm derby at Ibrox.
The Gers boss said it would be interesting to see which goalkeeper O'Neill selected for the Scottish Premiership clash.
Viljami Sinisalo starred in Celtic's 1-0 Europa League win in Stuttgart on Thursday after replacing the experienced Kasper Schmeichel, who let in two soft goals during a 4-1 first-leg defeat by the German club.
O'Neill was told of Rohl's comments during a pre-match press conference on Friday, soon after he returned to Glasgow.
"So he's picking our team?," said O'Neill, 73. "Well done, old Danny, well done. He's only in less than a year himself.
"He'll soon know all about it in the next four or five years," added the Northern Irishman, in his second spell as interim Celtic coach this season after being in charge of the Hoops from 2000-2005.
"Maybe he might have a choice of some players and maybe I could put my oar in there and find out what he's doing.
"Listen, sorry, I have to laugh. He's had a comment about our team, as in the picking of the team? Extraordinary. Absolutely extraordinary. He hasn't been in Glasgow long."
The German who joined Rangers in October 2025 also expressed "surprise" that in his view Celtic did not try to beat Stuttgart 3-0, claiming they were happy to stick to 1-0.
"He wants to be involved in some of these games," O'Neill replied. "I never saw it like that.
"I mean, we were driven back, because they are actually a very, very good team. They're in the top four in the Bundesliga...there's no need for him to be commenting on my team or our side."
"I think he possesses a very, very decent team over there, and it's going to be tough for us to try and get a result," he added of the trip to Ibrox. "But regardless, we're still fighting."
Reigning champions Celtic are currently third in the table, two points adrift of arch Glasgow rivals Rangers with a game in hand.
But come Sunday's kick-off they could be nine points behind leaders Hearts, but with two games in hand over the Edinburgh club.
"We're running out of games," said O'Neill. "We've been trying to catch up for quite some considerable time. We're still trying to do that at the moment. Losing to Hibs was a setback, but it wasn't mortal. We're still there."
R.Papakonstantinou--AN-GR
