Martin O’Neill has an interesting take on Celtic-Rangers gap after Russell Martin’s appointment

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The 2025/26 campaign is going to be Russell Martin’s first in Scotland, but could prove to be the final bow for Brendan Rodgers.

Rangers appointed Martin as their new boss in June after sacking Philippe Clement in February, and Barry Ferguson’s interim spell lasted until the end of the campaign.

Over on the other side of Glasgow, Celtic secured a double, but Rodgers’ contract expires during the summer of 2026 after he returned to the club in 2023.

If this is going to be the end of the road for the Irishman, then he is going to want to go out with a bang, including securing Premiership title number five out of five from his two spells in charge.

Martin O’Neill has been in the same boat as Martin, where the other side is dominating, and he shared whether the dominance can change.

• READ MORE: Neil Lennon says there’s something that won’t happen in Celtic-Rangers games for a ‘long, long time’

Celtic and Rangers gap after Russell Martin’s appointment

Celtic won the title by 17 points last term, and despite losing two Glasgow derbies, the team still walked to the title and narrowly missed out on a Treble.

There is a sizeable gap between the two, but O’Neill thinks the gap is ‘bridgeable’ when discussing Martin’s arrival.

The legendary Celtic manager highlighted on talkSPORT how he changed things around when he arrived in 2000, including winning the famous Treble.

“It’s bridgeable,” said O’Neill on the Celtic and Rangers gap. “You have to do it. 

“I went up there, this isn’t boasting, in the year 2000, and we had lost the league by 21 points. Did I think we could turn it around so quickly? Probably not. 

“But because we got a bit of confidence going. We won some early matches. We won a big game against Rangers that gave us this confidence, and we carried it on through, so that can happen. It can definitely happen. 

“They need to be far more consistent in their games, not just against Celtic in a one-off occasion, but away from home, particularly.”

Celtic and Rangers points gap is growing

After Steven Gerrard’s Rangers had stopped the ten, there was real pressure on Celtic, and it was the club’s biggest test in a very long time.

With Ange Postecoglou in charge, normal service resumed, and the trophies were secured again, as the points gap between the two is growing and growing ever since.

The recent pattern suggests that the points gap is only going to grow, especially with Rodgers still here and Celtic having their bit between their teeth.

It was frustrating for Celtic to lose the Scottish Cup final to Aberdeen, but the positives you can take from it are the fact that it has provided everyone with a kick.