Rohl insists O'Neill's 'no threat' comment not motivating Rangers ahead of Old Firm bow
Martin O'Neill said Rangers were "no threat" before he returned to the Celtic dugout, and his second game back in charge is the Old Firm.
Danny Rohl insists his players are not using Martin O'Neill's claim that Rangers are "no threat" to Celtic as motivation ahead of Sunday's Old Firm clash.
The Scottish League Cup semi-final at Celtic Park will feature two recently appointed bosses, after Rohl replaced Russell Martin and O'Neill returned to Celtic following Brendan Rodgers' resignation.
Prior to being appointed on a short-term deal by the Bhoys, O'Neill repeatedly criticised Rangers in his role as a pundit for TalkSPORT.
O'Neill said Rangers are "no threat whatsoever" in the Scottish Premiership title race, also claiming the Gers teams he faced during his previous spell with Celtic, from 2000 to 2005, would beat the current side 12-0.
But at Friday's pre-match press conference, Rohl – who has taken maximum points from his first two league games in charge – said those comments were not on his mind.
"For me, it's always important to focus on myself," Rohl said. "I'm not a coach who looks too much into other teams because we have a lot of work to do.
"My focus is on my team. What other coaches have said is not so important for me. I don't think it's necessary to have such words for motivation.
"My players are really motivated for a game like this. Everybody wants to play in this game because they want to be part of it, and part of a successful team."
During his first stint at Celtic Park, O'Neill led Celtic to three Premier League titles, three Scottish Cups, a League Cup and the 2003 UEFA Cup final, losing to Jose Mourinho's Porto in that showpiece match.
Rohl has nothing but admiration for the 73-year-old, saying: "I feel big respect for such a coaching career.
"It's always great when a manager works so long in the business and is successful. I'm just at the beginning of my career and I've had a lot of work to do to come to this point.
"But the good thing on Sunday is that we start at 0-0. We're different generations but let's see what we can bring with our teams in this game."
