Paul Lambert warns Rangers about what he ‘could feel’ with Martin O’Neill’s Celtic vs Falkirk

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Paul Lambert has fired a warning shot to Rangers as he watched Martin O’Neill’s Celtic batter Falkirk this week.

Celtic face Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final this afternoon after the Parkhead club brought in Martin O’Neill to take over temporarily from Brendan Rodgers.

In Rodgers’ final days at Celtic, the team looked bereft of confidence and ideas as they struggled to break down defences in the Scottish Premiership.

However, after watching Celtic demolish Falkirk on Wednesday night, Paul Lambert has fired a warning shot to Rangers ahead of today’s Premier Sports Cup clash at Hampden.

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Paul Lambert warns Rangers that Celtic are a ‘different animal’

Celtic looked dangerous and hungry in O’Neill’s first game against Falkirk and Lambert has warned Rangers that his old team look like a ‘different animal’ under the Northern Irishman.

Lambert told talkSPORT, “I think the gaffer going in, I think, is a great move. I think the club had to move forward really quickly.

“So the gaffer going in there has definitely given the lads a lift. What I saw against Hearts, sometimes you’ve got to do the hard yards and do the ugly side of the game and win games, first and foremost.

“I thought they’d lost that, that little bit, but the gaffer going in there, he certainly won’t tolerate it. They’ll have to run and have to work.

“I think against Falkirk, from what I saw, they were certainly putting the shift in, and it was a different animal. You could feel it.

“And that’s what he brings, that’s what the gaffer brings. He brings that enthusiasm with it. And I think it was going to be a really good game. It’s an open game, but from a Celtic point of view, I hope the lads get the result and go through.”

If Celtic can match the Falkirk performance then fans will be very confident of beating Danny Rohl’s Rangers this afternoon at Hampden.

BBC Celtic’s stats vs Falkirk proves Lambert’s warning to Rangers right

So what makes Lambert so confident that Celtic are different under Martin O’Neill? The stats from the BBC website from the Falkirk game is a start:

• Shots: 26
• Shots on target: 11
• Passes: 503:
• Forward passes: 167
• Successful final third passes: 117
• Touches inside Falkirk box: 37
• Possession: 60.4%

Celtic looked more direct and attacking against Falkirk as the dreaded horseshoe of death was put to bed. Hopefully this is a sign of things to come this afternoon at Hampden.