Martin O’Neill makes Rangers claim he admits he would never have done when Celtic boss

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The weekend’s football drew up some results that have caused a lot of headlines over the past 48 hours for the Celtic and Rangers supporters.

Celtic’s draw with Aberdeen on Saturday opened the door for Rangers to close the gap at the top of the Scottish Premiership on Sunday with a win against Kilmarnock.

However, Philippe Clement’s team blew that opportunity after losing 1-0 at Rugby Park which meant Celtic stretched their lead over their rivals to six points.

And whilst Celtic remain dominant over their Glasgow counterparts, Martin O’Neill has made a claim about Rangers that even he admits he would never have said whilst boss of the Hoops back in 2000.

Martin O’Neill says Celtic need a strong Rangers

The legendary former Celtic boss believes his old club need Rangers to be pushing them for the title to help Brendan Rodgers’ team remain ‘really strong’.

O’Neill told talkSPORT, “Even looking at it from a Celtic viewpoint, and hopefully Brendan would agree with this here.

“For Celtic to remain strong. Really, really strong you need a strong Rangers side. I’ve often said that.

“And while I might not have admitted that at the time when I was the manager, it is very, very important for Rangers to be strong so that Celtic keep focused if that’s the case.

“But if you’re running away with it and have Rangers so poor, you would expect, I think, if you thought that Aberdeen are going to be your nearest challengers, with the greatest of respect, then you think over a whole season, then you would do you automatically think that you could win.

“And the odds, at this minute in October time for Celtic to win the league, are ridiculously short.”

Celtic are doing fine regardless of Rangers’ stature

Celtic’s domination of Scottish football has been going on since O’Neill revolutionised the way the club did business back in 2000.

The Northern Irishman revamped recruitment and Celtic’s playing style to such a degree that the fans are still reaping the rewards of that until this day.

However, on the park, trophies and success are still being delivered whilst off it, Celtic’s finances have never been in better shape.

Whilst in context, O’Neill is probably looking at how being pushed domestically will help improve Celtic’s fortunes in Europe.

And whilst many Celtic fans will get what O’Neill means, there will be plenty of other supporters who believe that success in Europe can happen with or without Rangers vying for the Scottish Premiership title.