Martin O'Neill has hit back at Danny Rohl's provocative comments ahead of Sunday's Old Firm derby, calling them 'extraordinary' and questioning why the Rangers manager is discussing Celtic's team selection. The 74-year-old Celtic boss, who faces his first league derby since 2005, was particularly irritated by Rohl's suggestion that Celtic weren't trying to win their recent Europa League match against Stuttgart.

Rohl had responded to Celtic midfielder Luke McCowan's bold claim that 'no team in that league touches us' by pointing out Rangers are two points above reigning champions Celtic in the Scottish Premiership. The German coach also questioned why Celtic didn't push for more goals against Stuttgart after taking a 1-0 lead. O'Neill, who has won eight of his last ten matches against Rangers, dismissed the comments as unnecessary and suggested Rohl is still learning about Glasgow football culture.

With Hearts leading the Premiership by four points over Rangers, and Celtic two points further back with a game in hand, Sunday's derby at Ibrox could prove crucial for the title race. Both managers insist the result won't decide the championship, but O'Neill admits Celtic are 'running out of games' in their pursuit of Hearts. The fixture marks O'Neill's return to the derby scene after 19 years, though he led Celtic to victory over Rangers in the League Cup semi-final last November.