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

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Neil Lennon is regarded as one of the greatest individuals to have put on Celtic colours, whether that’s as a player or as a manager.

From being a part of Martin O’Neill’s legendary Treble-winning team to guiding Celtic to countless trophies from the touchline, Lennon has experienced it all, especially against Rangers.

Those on the Celtic and Rangers divide will tell you until the end of time that there isn’t a greater rivalry in the world than the Glasgow derby.

Whether it’s Celtic dominating, as they are now, or those in Blue are flying at the top, like they were for most of the 1990s, the game is always played in a fierce nature, and the hatred only grows from the stands.

But Lennon thinks things have drastically changed.

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Neil Lennon on the change in Celtic and Rangers matches

Lennon was reminiscing about his playing days on Open Goal, including what he walked into when he first joined Celtic in 2000.

It was only a few years back that Rangers’ ten had been stopped, and that’s when O’Neill’s era worked their magic, but the rivalry and games between the two were as intense as anything.

The man commanding things from the middle of the park for Celtic was Lennon, and he listed the ‘world-class’ players he was up against, including how both teams were able to bring in the top players, especially from the Premier League.

But Lennon thinks all of that has now changed, and those ‘really high level’ matches against Rangers won’t be seen in a ‘long, long time’.

“You see it now, what the club has done in the last decade and how good the club has been in the last decade,” said Lennon about winning the Treble under O’Neill. “That was pretty special.

“When you think about the dominance Rangers had in the previous decade. Martin (O’Neill) flipped it all. They were a brilliant team.

“You had Barry (Ferguson), Tugay, Jorg Albertz, Stefan Klos, Michael Mols, the de Boers, and Caniggia. They were all world-class players. Arthur Numan. All world-class players. They had all played for their countries. Top, top players.

“The games (against Rangers) were of a really high level. You probably won’t see that again in Glasgow derbies for a long, long time.

“Because of the financial differential now. Clubs like Rangers and Celtic could go to the Premier League 25 years ago (and bring in top players). You can’t now.”

Celtic’s head-to-head record against Rangers since 2015

One of the reasons why the level of quality in the games has dropped is that Celtic have gone down a different route of not buying ready-made players.

Added to that, Rangers have fallen off a cliff again and again and again. And the head-to-head record is in favour of one team in these past ten years.

And then, as Lennon mentioned, rather than Celtic or Rangers being able to financially compete with the top leagues.

Instead, the financial gulf has got bigger and bigger, especially in the English Premier League, and it has left any team in Scotland, of any significance, behind.