Former Celtic boss offers Philippe Clement advice as Rangers told to 'eke out results' to stay in title pursuit
The Ibrox club are in a state of disarray following Sunday’s 1-0 Premiership defeat to Kilmarnock
Martin O'Neill insists Rangers struggles to stay in touch with Celtic and Aberdeen at the top of the Scottish Premiership table makes Brendan Rodgers' job more challenging.
The former Celtic manager, who was used to being involved in some memorable title battles with the Ibrox club during his tenure, reckons Gers fans should be concerned by the current state of affairs both on and off the park.
The Light Blues have won only three domestic trophies in the past 13 years - one Premiership title, one League Cup and one Scottish Cup - with their city rivals dominating the Scottish football scene. As things stand, the Hoops are on course to retain the Premiership trophy and make it four-in-a-row, but it’s Jimmy Thelin’s Aberdeen and not Rangers who are pushing the champions at the summit so far this season.
The Gers lost further ground on the top two at the weekend, suffering a 1-0 defeat away to Kilmarnock on Sunday. But O’Neill insists a strong Rangers is important for Celtic as it keeps both teams focused on winning.
Speaking to talkSPORT, he declared: “No, I cannot (believe the situation Rangers are in). I don't know the individuals you are talking about (Dave King and other boardroom figures). What you can do is comment on the side that they have and the results that they are getting. That has been going on for some time. There has to be an improvement.
“Even looking at it from a Celtic viewpoint, hopefully, Brendan would agree with me here, for Celtic to remain strong, really, really strong, you need a strong Rangers. I have often said, while I might not have admitted that during the time I was the manager, it is very important, so that Celtic keep focused. If Rangers are so poor, if you thought Aberdeen were going to be your nearest challenger, with the greatest respect, then you would think, over a whole season, you would automatically think you could win.”
O’Neill has offered his own advice to under-fire Philippe Clement, informing the Belgian needs to find new ways to grind out wins if he’s halt his side’s alarming drop-off in form and performance levels. He added: “They're not good enough, that's right, you have to, as a manager, get the very best, you have to eke out results, a clear pattern about your team, the way they are going to play. You have to just hang in there. Go and win the games, no matter how ugly it is, go and win the game.
“There was an opportunity there, Celtic had dropped a couple of points, that is the team you have to be concerned about. However, you get the result, just go and get it. They didn't look like scoring a goal, that was the whole point. That is the feeling you get about this particular side. They have to go and win, eke out three consecutive victories to give themselves a bit of hope and a bit of confidence.”