Ex-Celtic boss reckons Ange Postecoglou will not alter his attacking approach against Rangers as Aaron Ramsey declared fit for derby showdown

Former Celtic manager Martin O’Neill reckons Ange Postecoglou will have one hand on his first Scottish Premiership title if his side avoid defeat against Rangers this weekend.

The Hoops have a three-point lead and a superior goal difference at the top of the table with two domestic Old Firm clashes remaining this season, plus a Scottish Cup semi-final showdown.

O’Neill, who won three League titles, three Scottish Cups, and a League Cup during his first-year spell in the Parkhead hot seat, doesn’t believe the Postecoglou will change his attacking approach on Sunday.

The Australian masterminded a superb first-half performance from his side during the previous derby encounter, with a double from Reo Hatate’s and Liel Abada’s strike securing a dominant 3-0 win over their city rivals.

Speaking to Clyde 1 Radio, O’Neill stated: “If Celtic come out of the match unscathed then you would have to say they’re really in pole position.

“Of course if Celtic go and win the game and I’m sure that’s probably in Postecoglou’s mind – thinking ‘I’m not going to change for anything, I’m going to go to Ibrox and attack’ – then you would have to think their position is very strong indeed.

“The pressure at this minute is very much on Rangers to get the result, it’s a home fixture for them and a big, big match for them.

“They’re three points behind and they’re unlikely - not impossible - to claw back that goal difference in the number of matches left.

“You could think at this stage that looks like a four point differential so really Rangers must win that game.

“I know they’ve got Celtic again at Celtic Park but really they’ve got to win this game.”

O’Neill admits Rangers can’t let their involvement in the Europa League cause a distraction ahead of a hugely significant match for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s men.

The Ibrox club have knocked out Bundesliga giants Borussia Dortmund and Serbian champions Red Star Belgrade to reach the quarter-final stage of the competition for the first time since 2008.

Portuguese outfit Braga stand in the Gers way of a place in the last four as they aim to move one step closer to reaching the final in Seville - where O’Neill took Celtic in 2003 as they lost out 3-2 to Porto in the UEFA Cup Final.

He added: “The result against Dortmund will have given them confidence to know they can compete in European football.

“That was a big shout, a terrific result, when you consider what Dortmund are capable of in the Bundesliga and believe they can contest against the other seven teams left in the competition.

“You’ve got Braga over two legs which isn’t something you would look forward to but you would not fear and who knows?”

Meanwhile, Rangers midfielder Aaron Ramsey WILL be fit to face Celtic amid reports he had picked up an injury on international duty.

The Juventus loanee was left out of the Wales squad for the 1-1 friendly draw with Czech Republic last night and manager Robert Page confirmed he took the decision to rest Ramsey after playing the entire 95 minutes against Austria last Thursday.

He revealed: “There’s no injury. We have to show respect to the clubs as well. We have their players.

“Aaron’s 30-plus and I made that decision not to have him and Joe Allen in the 23. It was a no brainer really.

“The job was done because the most important game was against Austria on Thursday. We are in the (play-off) final now.

“We didn’t need to risk Aaron. Let him go back to his club fully fit and play in a wonderful game in the Old Firm derby on Sunday.

“Knowing then there is less risk of him getting injured or picking something else up so we can protect him a little bit for June.”