O'Neill says massive Old Firm will be his last
Martin O'Neill expects Sunday's Old Firm derby to be his last as Celtic aims to beat arch-rival Rangers and keep the pressure on Scottish Premiership leader Hearts.
O'Neill is preparing for his first Glasgow derby at Parkhead in 21 years, with his team just three points off the pace at the summit and four clear of Rangers.
Rangers could be out of the race for the title even before kick-off if Hearts beats Motherwell prior to the Old Firm, having slipped to back-to-back defeats to those aforementioned teams.
Celtic is, however, without a win in its past six league meetings with Rangers, losing three of those.
But the Bhoys have won each of their past four league games, with their longest winning run of this season being five matches, which came during O'Neill's first spell in charge of the campaign from October to December after replacing Brendan Rodgers.
O'Neill revealed this weekend is likely to be his final dugout battle with Rangers, though, saying: "I would say most likely."
But the 74-year-old wants to end his third stint with the club on a high, but acknowledged his team may come up against a wounded animal in Rangers.
"At home, we have to try and get on the front foot as early as possible and try and win the game. We still feel it's [the title] in our own grasp at this minute," he said.
"We've got some goals to try and make up, but that's a long way off. It'll be a strong game. Rangers will be coming here, naturally disappointed about last week's result.
"I thought they played very, very well in the first half of the game and points to prove.
"There always seems to be points to prove in Old Firm games. I'll expect a strong, strong reaction from Rangers. We've got to be strong ourselves and hopefully we can do that."
Rangers won the most recent Old Firm clash at Parkhead, but Danny Rohl is yet to get the better of O'Neill this season with a league draw and defeats in both cup competitions.
But Rangers has won both of its past two league visits to Celtic, as many as its previous 19 beforehand.
Rohl, who insists he remains committed to the Ibrox club despite links to the Bundesliga, is hoping for another successful trip to Glasgow's East End.
"It's a special game for us," Rohl said. "Nobody needs extra motivation to go into this game.
"We want to make our supporters and fans proud and that means we have to deliver on Sunday. The last game there is a good picture of our last couple of weeks.
"In the first half, we started well, but then the opponent was better and scored. We adjusted things at half-time and had a plan B. We then turned it to 3-1.
"We showed we can do that. That's when we really felt the belief that even when things don't go right in a game, we can turn them in the right direction.
"In the last 15 years we didn't win what we should do, and I think this is a big part of what we have to change.
"In the last six months, we improved the standards higher and higher. In the last seven days we couldn't, and I think this is a big part of our future.
"We move now and it gives me, especially also for the new season, a big, big motivation to be better every day, increase the standards and make the step forward."
