Celtic manager Martin O'Neill today warned his players that Rangers are as good as they were last season despite the departure of Barry Ferguson. The Treble winners were apparently weakened after their influential skipper decided to leave for Blackburn in a big-money move. But manager Alex McLeish responded by snatching Brazilian midfielder Emerson, from under the noses of their Old Firm rivals to replace the Scotland international star, along with Henning Berg, Nuno Capucho, Egil Ostenstadt, Paolo Vanoli and Zura Khizanishvili.
Rangers have not looked back by roaring to the top of the Bank of Scotland Premier League and their Champions League group, which is why O'Neill does not believe that they have not missed the presence of Ferguson in the middle of the pitch. O'Neill said: "Rangers have changed some personnel, but basically the way they play is still the same. They have a lot of confidence which has been shown in their results and in many respects they are as good as they were last season."
The former Leicester manager also described their first visit to Ibrox this season "a formidable task". Last season's UEFA Cup finalists make the short trip across town knowing that victory over their arch-rivals would put them back on top of the SPL. Both teams are flying high on the back of good results in the Champions League, but O'Neill is optimistic of a repeat of their victory there in April.
"Rangers at Ibrox represents a formidable task for us," said the Celtic boss. "It will be a hard one but after Tuesday we will go there with plenty of confidence. Rangers are playing so well and will also be confident, but the last time we were there we won - so we will go with plenty of confidence."
Filed by Brendan Cole
