Martin O’Neill makes Celtic Champions League prediction as Rangers title hopes virtually written off after 4 games
O'Neill reckons the Hoops have a great chance of reaching the next round for the first time in a decade.
Martin O'Neill reckons Celtic will have a great chance of finally making it back to the knock-out stage of the Champions League.
The Hoops have been drawn in a group alongside Dutch champions Feyenoord, La Liga cracks Atletico Madrid and old Europa League foes Lazio. While it's not going to be plain sailing for Brendan Rodgers' men, they could have been placed in far harder groups. A big improvement in results will be needed compared to last season's campaign, but hopes are high that second place is doable, or at least a third place finish which would parachute them into the Europa League.
And former boss O'Neill is confident the Hoops will give a good account of themselves and will be in the mix to finish in that second spot. Speaking exclusively to Ladbrokes Fanzone, the ex-Parkhead boss said: "The draw for the Champions League has been made, and while you're never going to get it easy, things could have been much more difficult for them.
"They're going to give themselves a great chance of making the knockout stage, and that would be huge, because Celtic thrive on those European nights. Things haven't been so good in recent years in terms of results in Europe, so it would be great if they could rectify that this season."
After beating Rangers at the weekend, O'Neill is doubtful Rangers can make up the four point gap, even this early in the season. he added: "That was a big result for Celtic at the weekend... a good result for Brendan in particular, too. When you look at the circumstances in which he left the football club, not every Celtic fan was best pleased with the reappointment of him. But matches like that can work absolute wonders for a manager trying to cement their place back in the hearts of the fans.
But that win against Rangers is huge in the title race, even this early in the season. As for Rangers... what a bad couple of days for them; getting knocked out of Champions League qualifying, in terms of prestige it's bad enough, but also the finance side of things, it's a huge blow to them. Celtic have the upper hand over them in that respect, and they're four points clear of them in the league - Celtic should be able to go on and win that title now, you would expect."