Celtic: Martin O’Neill does not imagine a repeat of the “Demolition Derby”

O’Neill was appointed after Brendan Rodgers resigned on Monday with his club behind Heart of Midlothian in the league table, having missed out on Champions League football, and amid protests against the Celtic board over a disappointing summer transfer window.

“It’s a big game for us,” O’Neill said. “Really, don’t hide it at all. It’s a semi-final, it’s a big game for us.

“Any game between Celtic and Rangers is a big game, but especially given the recent circumstances, if not weeks, certainly.”

In his first spell, O’Neill won 16 of the 27 Old Firm matches he played, drawing three and losing eight.

However, there was only one victory from his previous four Hampden encounters with Rangers, and there was only one League Cup win during his first five-year spell at Celtic Park.

When asked about his memories of the derby, O’Neill said: “I was nervous for about 72 hours before that, and then, if you get the result, you feel a huge relief.”

When asked if he felt different this time, he said: “Absolutely not. No, no, worse.”

O’Neill pointed out that his first derby match came after “five or six games” in charge, while Sunday comes after just one game this time, a 4-0 league win on Wednesday over Falkirk.

“I learned a lot in the Falkirk game, which was great for us – getting confidence back,” he said. “So we will go into this game with this confidence and that is the most important thing.

“But even if I was here for a month or something, it would be really difficult to gauge exactly what the players can do.”

Danny Ruhl, half O’Neill’s age, will be in the opposite dugout in just his fourth game as Rangers coach.

“I heard a lot of good things and I think I said that even before I got this job,” O’Neill added.

“I think a lot of the players at Sheffield Wednesday were very complimentary of him.

“That was a big win for them there at Easter Road [1-0 against Hibernian]. So they will go into the match with great confidence in themselves.”