Martin O’Neill has fiercely dismissed Graeme Souness’ suggestion that the gap between Celtic and Rangers is narrower than it appears, after Celtic’s emphatic 3-0 victory in the latest Old Firm clash at Celtic Park.
The result extended Celtic’s dominance in Scottish football, building on last season’s success, where Rangers failed to win any of their encounters against their Glasgow rivals.
Celtic finished eight points clear in the Scottish Premiership, capitalising on Rangers’ inability to keep pace during the title race.
However, former Rangers player Graeme Souness appeared on talkSPORT following the recent Old Firm fixture, offering a different perspective on the two sides.
Despite Celtic’s comfortable win, Souness suggested the gap between the clubs wasn’t as significant as the scoreline or league table suggested.
“No doubt about it, there is a gap,” Souness admitted. “(But) that gap for me, looking at it, is that Celtic have better strikers.
“Those stats are not suggesting that they are absolutely turning up and mullering Rangers at Parkhead. We (Rangers) finished last year second behind Celtic.
“At the end of the season, they spent £28 million. We spent £14 million – and they brought a lot of money in. So we’re chasing them, but we’re spending half the amount of money in the summer months.
“So there is a gap. Rangers are not in a healthy financial situation right now. Celtic are in a far better financial situation that allows them to go out and cherry-pick players.
“Whereas Rangers are buying under pressure, where everyone they buy has to come in and do a job right now. That’s a difficult situation to be in.”
Despite Souness’ attempts to downplay the gulf between the two clubs, not everyone shares his optimism about Rangers’ current position. Martin O’Neill, the former Celtic manager and Northern Ireland international, offered a much harsher assessment of the state of the Ibrox club under Philippe Clement.
Asked for his thoughts on Souness’ comments during the White and Jordan show, O’Neill was forthright in his response, arguing that the former Rangers man was severely underestimating the current disparity between the two clubs.
“He’s deluding himself – absolutely!” O’Neill said. “Because there is a gap – there is a chasm between them.
“Yes, in a game itself over a 90-minute period, they might actually be close. And if you’re only beaten by 1 or 2-0, then you can make all sorts of thoughts about it (being close).
“But actually that game (last week) wasn’t close at all. Celtic were far, far better.
“And the idea that Rangers only spent less money is because of the demise of Rangers for the last number of years. But it’s been terrible, it’s really been terrible.”
O’Neill went on to argue that the struggles of Rangers in recent years had not only been bad for the club itself but also detrimental to Celtic’s ability to grow and compete on the European stage.
According to O’Neill, the decline of Rangers has denied Celtic the kind of domestic competition that would help them prepare for tougher tests in European football.
“And it doesn’t do Celtic any favours, I don’t think, because for Celtic to be really strong and try to compete in European football… for them to be strong, Rangers have got to be strong.
“And Rangers are not. They’re very, very poor. And the side, I would think is as poor a Rangers side as I have known in my time in football.”
O’Neill’s damning verdict on Rangers’ current state extended to their recruitment strategy, which he believes has left them ill-equipped to compete not only in Europe but also domestically.
“Their recruitment doesn’t look too strong at all. Forget about European football – just compete at domestic football!” O’Neill insisted.
“When I talk about a chasm, what I’m talking about is that Celtic have the ability to go away from home and win difficult matches that might cause a problem.
“Rangers, you could not guarantee them going away from home and getting a result. Last year – and I know I’m not just putting it down to one fixture – but they had this chance of winning and of overturning this gap.
“And they were in a good position too, even after the Celtic game, which they drew.
“They go to Ross County, they took the lead against Ross County – and get beaten. A Rangers side should not be doing that.”
Looking ahead, with Celtic preparing to embark on another Champions League campaign, O’Neill suggested that the lack of strong domestic competition from Rangers could have serious repercussions for Celtic’s European prospects.
He argued that the absence of a robust challenge at home might leave Celtic ill-prepared to face the rigours of continental football.
“If I’m looking at it through Celtic eyes, you need Rangers to be strong,” O’Neill said. “You need them to be very, very competitive. And that keeps you strong.
“Yeah, there will be a number of Celtic fans who will be absolutely delighted at the situation at this minute. But not for me.
“I felt at the time, going back 20 years (to when I was manager), coming into that environment where you had a really strong Rangers side, it galvanised you yourself to try and compete.”
Celtic’s upcoming group stage fixtures in the Champions League will pit them against formidable opposition, including Borussia Dortmund, Atalanta, RB Leipzig, and Aston Villa. However, O’Neill’s warning suggests that without a strong domestic rival in Rangers, Celtic may struggle to raise their game to the required level when facing Europe’s elite clubs.