My warning to Rangers boss Danny Rohl over Celtic picture Martin O’Neill is trying to paint – Barry Ferguson
The Ibrox legend admits in his latest Record Sport column that O’Neill’s return to Scottish football has taken him aback – and back to his own playing days
06:00, 31 Oct 2025
I’ll be at Hampden on Sunday afternoon and there’s a part of me wishing I was taking my boots there with me.
Because the sight of Martin O’Neill walking back into Celtic’s dugout is going to bring a lot of old memories rushing back to the days when I was out there playing against his side the first time around.
It’s mental, isn’t it? Here we all are 20 years later and he’s right back where it started. And isn’t that why we can’t get enough of Scottish football?
The English will tell you that the quality isn’t always great. They’ll look down their noses and say our game isn’t a patch on the Premier League.
But they can shove that borefest where the sun don’t shine.
When it comes to sheer drama, passion and incredible story lines, they don’t even get close.
Just look at what’s been going on up here over the last six months or so. First, out of the blue, I get the call to take interim charge of my old club and fulfill a lifelong ambition. Not even I saw that one coming.
Then Russell Martin gets the job and loses it after 122 days. In between times Hearts have stormed to the top of the table.
Celtic respond by parting company with Brendan Rodgers after winning 11 trophies out of 13. Dermot Desmond has his say and winds the clock back to the turn of the century by throwing his tracksuit jacket at O’Neill.
Honestly, you just couldn’t make any of this stuff up and I’m already counting down the hours until Sunday at 2pm when the Old Firm go head-to-head for a place in the first cup final of the season.
How can anyone not love the mayhem of it all?
The one thing I’d warn Danny Rohl right away is not to underestimate the man standing in the other technical area. Not for a moment that I think he will.
I like listening to Martin speak – he’s always entertaining – and he is probably trying to paint a picture of a 73-year-old who is just glad to give his old club a helping hand in a time of need.
And if you believe that then you need your head looked at.
Celtic interim manager Martin O’Neill celebrates
OK, he might be getting on a bit in years but he’s the same winner now as he was back then. He’ll be absolutely desperate to get one over on Rangers and not just for old time’s sakes.
He’s also a smart man and he’ll have worked out a plan for this semi final. Be in no doubt at all about that.
But then again, that’s Celtic’s business. And right now all that matters to me is seeing my old club getting back on its feet again and taking some encouraging steps in the right direction.
First and foremost, Danny has spoken about reconnecting the fans with the team and that’s music to my ears. It tells me he gets it.
He also seems to have realised already how to make that happen – by sending out a team which, at the very least, is prepared to battle and scratch for the badge on the shirt.
Yes, Rangers fans can be very demanding but only because they want to see their side winning games of football.
On the flip side, they’re also not that hard to please. So long as they see a group of players out there who are prepared to run their nuts off they stick with them even at times when the football isn’t always full of pretty passing and patterns of play.
Give these guys honesty, grit and sheer determination and they’ll have your back all the way.
And that’s what I enjoyed so much about Wednesday’s 1-0 win at Easter Road.
First of all, the manager deserves praise for quickly figuring out a system and formation which suits the players inside his dressing room.
All I hear these days is about philosophies and coaches with very specific, signature styles of play, no matter what’s actually happening out there on the pitch.
I’ve never bought into that. In my mind, the best managers are the ones who are flexible and able to think on their feet.
What’s the point in sticking to one way of playing the game when everyone else out there knows exactly what that looks like?
To my mind, it’s always better to keep the other guys guessing.
Danny has already switched from a back four to a back three. Hibs were probably having to plan for them both the other night.
And the way Rangers dominated the first half tells me that David Gray and his players were caught by surprise.
I enjoyed the intensity and the speed of some of the forward play. There were some really nice bits of football and, best of all, they were going about their business with an unmistakable bit of bite. That’s what any proper Rangers side needs as a bare minimum.
When Hibs regrouped at half time and their manager made some tweaks of his own, the game became more evenly balanced.
And do you know what? I enjoyed the second half every bit as much as I did the first. But for completely different reasons.
OK, Rangers didn’t look so much of a threat and Hibs enjoyed more of the ball but I never felt worried at any stage that the home side was about to grab an equaliser. Well, not until the late penalty and another superb save from big Jack Butland.
Rangers manager Danny Rohl
Instead, I enjoyed watching Rangers grind it out, dropping back in, getting compact and making themselves difficult to get through. Most of all, I saw them fighting for each other in the heat of the battle.
Sometimes these 1-0 wins are the most enjoyable of the lot because of how hard you have to work for them.
There were a couple of wee flash points and ding-dongs along the way – nothing major but passions were clearly running high.
What I loved was seeing the Rangers players standing up for one another. If one of their team mates was involved in a heated exchange, they were over there in numbers to give some back up.
That’s something I encouraged during my short time with them last season.
They have to be prepared to go to war for that win, even when the standard is not just as easy on the eye, slick as they would like. There is more than one way of winning a game of football.
On Sunday they’re going to have to fight for every blade of grass from minute one until the final whistle. And I expect both of these new managers will demand nothing less.
Prediction
CELTIC 1-2 RANGERS
