Celtic vs Rangers: O'Neill Under Pressure Ahead of Derby Showdown
Celtic and Rangers collide again on Sunday, with the champions walking into the cauldron under real scrutiny and fresh scars.
Martin O'Neill’s side were taken apart 3-0 by Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup quarter-finals at Ibrox last weekend, then followed that with a 3-1 Europa League defeat to Ferencvaros. Two big games, two bruising losses. The noise around the manager has grown louder by the day.
And yet, in the strange logic of this fixture, Celtic can still land a heavy blow. Victory at home would send them eight points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership. Lose a third game in a row, and Rangers would be just two points behind. The stakes are obvious. So is the tension.
O’Neill under pressure, but defiant
O’Neill cut a determined figure as he looked ahead to the derby.
"We're ready to go, we really are," he said. "We're getting prepared for the game. It was a difficult game last Sunday and difficult last night, but we're ready to go."
The results have been poor, but he rejected any suggestion that belief has drained away.
"Confidence, we're far from rock-bottom. We're still in the lead in the league. If we can win this, we can extend the lead. If we don't, going into the international break, we're still going to be in front."
He knows the optics. Three straight defeats, two of them in high-profile competitions, would cast a long shadow over the international break.
"It's not the thing that you would look forward to going into an international break on three successive defeats, if that's the case.
"We've got to be a bit more inventive but the crowd will be up for this. The players are capable of turning it around."
That word – inventive – hangs over his team selection and shape for Sunday.
New faces, old questions
Celtic’s new signings were accused of shrinking on the big stage at Ibrox, where several struggled to impose themselves in the 3-0 defeat. The accusation is familiar: do they truly understand what this fixture demands?
"It will probably take a little bit more time, but I think anybody who experienced last Sunday, to know what it's all about, it shouldn't need many more lessons," O'Neill said.
He wants the shock of that loss to harden them quickly. There is no gentler introduction to life in Glasgow.
Team selection, though, is complicated. O’Neill confirmed that “one or two” players who came off during the defeat to Ferencvaros will need to be assessed before the weekend. Yang Hyun-Jun remains away with South Korea on international duty, adding another layer of uncertainty.
The manager did not commit himself on whether he might switch shape to pair Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran up front, but the option is clearly on the table as he searches for that missing spark in attack.
Alistair Johnston and Callum Osmand are still out injured, limiting his room to manoeuvre in key areas.
Rangers’ edge – and their own concerns
Rangers arrive with the psychological edge of that 3-0 cup win and the sense that the pressure is all on Celtic. Yet they have concerns of their own.
Striker Ryan Naderi is a doubt after suffering an ankle injury in that Ibrox victory, the result of a challenge from Mika Baur. Rangers have contacted Scottish FA head of refereeing Willie Collum to ask why no further punishment was given for the incident, underlining how sorely they feel the potential loss of their forward.
One unnamed player is also a doubt for the visitors, while left-back Tuur Roomens has returned to training after injury and could come back into contention.
So both sides carry knocks, both sides carry questions. Celtic carry the burden.
An eight-point cushion or a two-point gap. A statement win or a third straight setback. On Sunday, amid the noise and fury, we find out which version of this Celtic side is real.
