Martin O’Neill has returned to Celtic on an interim basis and will come up against Danny Rohl’s Rangers on Sunday
Danny Rohl has expressed confidence in the Rangers team, despite returning Celtic boss Martin O’Neill’s assertion that the Ibrox side are no longer contenders for the William Hill Premiership title.
O’Neill, who had a successful stint managing Celtic from 2000 to 2005, was dramatically appointed as interim Celtic boss on Monday night following Brendan Rodgers’ resignation after a 3-1 loss to Hearts at Tynecastle, leaving them eight points behind the league-leading Jambos.
However, speaking as a pundit on talkSPORT, O’Neill stated that Rangers, currently trailing Celtic by five points after their 3-1 victory over Kilmarnock on Sunday, “are no threat whatsoever, although the new manager (Rohl), I think he can maybe do something in time. But they are so far adrift, it’s untrue.”
Ahead of Wednesday night’s match against Hibernian, 36-year-old Rohl, who replaced the dismissed Russell Martin at the beginning of last week and started with a 3-0 Europa League loss to Brann in Norway last Thursday night, responded to his new rival’s comments, saying: “I must say this morning, I sat here and looked to the faces of my players and I see there’s a big, big belief now.
“I think they feel it on the pitch.
“I have the feeling they believe at the moment in what we are doing, in the last days.
“Of course, after the big defeat, then we got a good reaction.
“I think this is also important for players and for us to see, after a setback, that you can come back.
“There was another setback during the game when it was 1-1 and you come through, and then you fully deserved the game.”
Rohl was delighted to witness Youssef Chermiti, the heavily criticised 21-year-old forward who allegedly cost £8.5million when he arrived from Everton in the summer, net his maiden Rangers strike when he defeated Kilmarnock’s Eddie Beach from range, though the keeper didn’t appear particularly sharp in his saving attempt.
Nevertheless, Rangers supporters observed that Chermiti seemed to make a talking motion with his hand during his celebration, possibly suggesting he was quieting his critics.
Rohl commented: “I think a celebration after a goal is always important.
“I think you have to understand how you celebrate sometimes.
“I said this when I arrived, it’s not just about improving players on the pitch, also off the pitch.
“But we spoke about this and I think he knows what to do the next time, a bit emotional, but not more, For me, it was more important that he scored.”
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