Jamie O’Hara doesn’t think Rangers are a million miles away from Celtic.
The eyebrow-raising claim was delivered on talkSPORT’s Thursday night show hosted by ex-Tottenham Hotspur midfielder O’Hara and former Chelsea star Jason Cundy.
The pair were discussing Rangers after their defeat to Genk in the Europa League, with ex-Celtic striker Oh silencing Ibrox with his winning goal.
Russell Martin is under intense pressure from fans because he has won just four of his 14 games in charge thus far.
As a result, Rangers are currently sitting 11th in the Scottish Premiership, nine points behind champions Celtic. But O’Hara doesn’t think the current gap is as big as people make out.
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O’Hara thinks Rangers ‘not a million miles away’ from Celtic
O’Hara pointed towards the Glasgow derby games last year, which saw Celtic win just one out of five across 90 minutes.
However, Cundy was not having it and thinks Rangers are years away from catching up to Celtic.
O’Hara: “You’re asking me how far away are they.”
Cundy: “Well they’re years away then!”
O’Hara: “I don’t know if they are mate. Listen, I don’t know if they are. When you watch the big derby between Celtic and Rangers, I don’t think Rangers are a million miles away from Celtic.
“But Celtic do it consistently. And they’ve got a philosophy, they’ve got a style. I don’t think they’re a million miles away.
“They might look like it right now because of the manager they’ve got in charge and the football they’re playing.
“That is not a Rangers team. I don’t look at that team at the moment with Russell Martin and see a Rangers side. I see a soft, weak mentality team with a soft-centred manager and they’re getting turned over.”
The gap between Rangers and Celtic is their mentality
O’Hara makes a valid point in that when Rangers played Celtic in the derby clashes last season, there wasn’t too much between the sides.
Celtic won the first of the campaign easily, before lifting the Premier Sports Cup after beating Rangers on penalties at Hampden Park in December.
Rangers then won the next two before a 1-1 draw in May. But the evidence is there: Rangers are able to get up for the big games against Celtic and in Europe, but stumble domestically.
The gap between the sides appears to be more about mentality than quality, as a result.
Celtic are a better team though, at the end of the day. They’ve won the last four Premiership titles and are able to be consistent over a longer period than Rangers.
Rangers show moments, but Celtic are stronger over a longer stretch of time, which is likely to be the case again this season.
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