Martin O’Neill admitted he was taken aback by Rangers performance in Sunday’s Scottish League Cup semi-final, praising the resilience and drive shown by Danny Röhl’s side despite their 3–1 defeat after extra time.
Rangers played more than 80 minutes with ten men following Thelo Aasgaard’s first-half dismissal yet still forced extra time through James Tavernier’s late penalty before Celtic eventually secured their place in the final with extra-time goals from Callum McGregor and Callum Osmand.
For O’Neill, who has seen countless Old Firm battles from the dugout, it was the response of Rangers, not simply their resistance, that caught the eye.
He said: “I’d been watching Rangers from a distance and I thought, they’re not that fantastic but I thought they showed a lot of resilience today.”
The comment was notable in tone. O’Neill did sound patronising with his tone; he was acknowledging that Rangers played with a conviction and unity that has not always been present in recent months.
If anything, it was an admission that Celtic had more difficulty than expected once the match turned chaotic.
O’Neill went further, referencing the impact of Rangers’ substitutes, particularly the pace and aggression injected by Mikey Moore and Djeidi Gassama, who stretched Celtic even with the numerical advantage.
He said: “They’re bringing on players who are wanting to take people on. And I wonder where they came from, I didn’t know.”
The phrasing was off-the-cuff but revealing. It reflected a genuine surprise at the boldness of Röhl’s changes and the level of individual contribution from the young substitutes.
Despite the defeat, O’Neill believed Rangers showed steel in key moments:
He said: “Having spent a lot of the game down to 10 men, I thought they did really, really well.”
In contrast to Rangers captain James Tavernier’s post-match comments, which focused on refereeing inconsistency, O’Neill, like Rohl, avoided discussing officiating entirely.
He neither defended nor criticised the decisions that shaped the game. Instead, he kept the emphasis on football, game-state, and mentality.
Interestingly, he made no comment on the decision to award Rangers a penalty for a Tony Ralston handball – whether this silence would have remained had Rangers progressed is anybody’s guess.