Kris Boyd has reacted to the footage Sky Sports shared of Rangers manager Danny Rohl ahead of last weekend’s Old Firm derby.
Rohl was asked to respond to comments made by Celtic’s Luke McGowan, which he did, but then he also commented on Kasper Schmeichel, which led to a response from the Hoops boss Martin O’Neill.
The Northern Irishman told the German that it was “extraordinary” to see him making comments about his team despite being in Glasgow for less than a year.
Kris Boyd disappointed with Danny Rohl for getting baited into the argument
Looking at the footage of the press conference, Boyd admits that he went into the game shaking his head.
The former Rangers striker has stated that he knows what the media does in the build-up to big games such as the Old Firm derby, and the journalist did his job of putting the manager on the spot.
In Boyd’s view, Rohl did not handle that well and should have just brushed it off with a dry reply.
However, his response sparked a strong reaction from O’Neill, who is more experienced at handling these situations.
Also, the Celtic boss has plenty of credit in the bank as he’s an icon at the club from his playing days.
Boyd told the Scottish Sun: “The way he went into that last Old Firm clash also had me shaking my head.
“I’ve been in this game long enough to know how the media works in the build-up to derbies.
“It’s the job of a journalist to ask questions that put people on the spot. But I thought Rohl allowed himself to be baited into an argument with the Celtic manager that he shouldn’t have let happen.
“O’Neill has earned that right, given all he’s achieved at Parkhead in his career. Rohl hasn’t. He should be concentrating on getting his message across to his players, let alone having digs at his rivals to antagonise them.
“The drop-off in that last derby was incredible.”
What does Andrew Cavenagh think about Rohl at Rangers?
The pressure is surely mounting on the Gers manager, and it will go up a notch if they lose to Celtic over the weekend.
However, Andrew Cavenagh has been impressed with Rohl, given how he managed to turn things around after taking over from Russell Martin.
It would take a major collapse from now until the end of the season for the board to part ways with the German, even if they end the season trophyless.
Rangers are backing Rohl ahead of the summer transfer window, but the coming weeks provide him the chance to win over the Gers fans completely.
He can also throw his weight in terms of getting certain deals over the line if he manages to deliver the double, given the state of the side when he joined in October.
