Martin O’Neill and Derek McInnes will be seeing a lot of each other next season during games between Rangers and Celtic.
The Old Firm derbies tend to start getting spicy days before a ball is even kicked, as both managers have the opportunity to take jabs at each other.
O’Neill dominated the pre-game conversations last season with Danny Rohl, but he will be aware that McInnes is a different proposition altogether.
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Martin O’Neill expects a tough time against Rangers
O’Neill does not expect it to be smooth sailing for his Celtic side going into the 2026/27 campaign.
There does seem to be a hint of him being scared to go up against McInnes, who nearly beat him to the title when he was at Hearts.
Now at Rangers, not only does he have a stronger team, but he will also have more resources in the transfer market to strengthen the squad.
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There is also no pressure on him to part ways with their best players every summer and he could go on to build a strong side at Ibrox over the next few years.
The Hoops boss told Celtic TV: “I think we’re in for a tough old time this season.
“I think Rangers will get stronger, and Hearts won’t go down without a fight, there’s no question about that.
“I have felt this, I must admit, that every single time that we played the matches, you give the team the respect that they deserve. Teams, I thought, were getting closer to Celtic than perhaps ever before, certainly in recent times.
“So those are concerns, but I’ve had those concerns all the time, even when I managed 25 years ago. But here it just seems more apparent.”
What changes does Derek McInnes need to bring about to make Rangers title winners?
The owners will have seen the team last season and in recent years, conceding silly goals and failing to make the most of winning situations.
In McInnes, they have someone who, despite being a tad pragmatic, has proven to be efficient in getting the job done.
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For starters, he needs to make the team better off the ball and that means an organised setup with players knowing when to engage in a press and when to soak in the pressure.
There is also expected to be a remarkable improvement in set pieces with players knowing their roles better.
Past Rangers managers have been haphazard with their preparation of set pieces, and it will be going back to the basics and getting them right before they can move to more complicated issues.
