Martin O’Neill’s blunt Steven Gerrard verdict makes stance on Rangers challenging Celtic clear

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Steven Gerrard is seemingly coming back for another crack at toppling Celtic.

The ex-Liverpool midfielder, who played under Brendan Rodgers at Anfield, is now widely being reported as being in advanced talks with the Ibrox hierarchy.

After winning just one trophy from nine in his first Rangers spell, Gerrard will surely be hoping for a better record of silverware this time around.

But given how dominant the Hoops have been domestically, this won’t be easy. There may be issues with the Celtic board and fans, but they are still levels ahead of wherever Rangers are at the minute.

And for one Celtic icon, there are doubts over whether this appointment will have the desired effect at Ibrox.

Martin O’Neill on Rangers’ move for Steven Gerrard

Martin O’Neill won the treble against Dick Advocaat’s Rangers in his first season at Celtic, before going head-to-head with Alex McLeish over the next four years.

READ MORE: Michel-Ange Balikwisha admits Celtic start was ‘not easy’ in honest reflection

For comparison, Rodgers has faced eight different Ibrox bosses across his five-and-a-bit seasons in Glasgow, such has been the chaos across the city.

When asked about the potential appointment of Gerrard, O’Neill’s verdict was blunt and certain – it’s not going to be this season.

He told the Daily Record: “I’m obviously going to take a managerial viewpoint here because sometimes just changing the manager doesn’t necessarily mean that progress will be made immediately.

“You might have that new-manager-coming-in-effect for a game or two. What you have to do is look at this here and think ‘this is the problem’.

“You have to look at Rangers, you have to look at the squad, you have to look at recruitment. You have to look at the sort of players they’re bringing into the football club.

The truth is this here, from a distance, the team is definitely not strong enough. There’s no question about that.

“They’re not strong enough to sustain a challenge. By that I mean against Celtic, which they played earlier on in the season and the draw. Yes, you can compete in that particular game, but then can you go away from home on a Wednesday evening and win?

“Can you travel north? Can you go and win at Easter Road? Can you win at Tynecastle? Can you win up Aberdeen on a cold, blowy night? Things like this.

“That side that Rangers have had now definitely do not. They can’t sustain the course.”

Will Celtic be in a title race this season?

There was a narrative that Rodgers did not face a ‘proper title race’ in his first spell in Glasgow, and that he would struggle with a ‘real challenge’ in his second stint.

The Hoops boss typically then did his talking on the pitch. Neck-and-neck with Phillippe Clement’s Rangers at points in the season, crucial moments in the run-in saw the Hoops come out on top.

This time around, it isn’t even clear who will be the Hoops’ main challengers. Could Derek McInnes’ Hearts sustain a proper challenge?

One thing is clear: it will take a drastic upturn in results and performances for this Rangers team to challenge Celtic.