Ex-Celtic hero says Rangers ‘improvement’ won't stop Martin O’Neill amid 'always be chasing' claim

Martin O’Neill’s men suffered back-to-back defeats to Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup and Scottish Premiership last month, but have rallied in recent weeks, going four points clear thanks to wins over Motherwell, Hearts and Hibs.

While Rangers look a different animal this season, winning seven of their eight games, Sinclair believes O’Neill’s vast experience will give him the final laugh, tipping the veteran boss to end the campaign with yet another league winner’s medal.

“When you play against Rangers, it means so much,” admitted Sinclair. “Playing in it, you understand how big of a game it is for the fans and it's what they live for when both teams meet on the weekend. The main priority is to win the Premiership every season. When you're at Celtic, you're expected to play and win every single game, and it's the same with Rangers now.

“Rangers have improved but for me, Celtic will always be the team everyone is chasing and Martin O’Neill is the right man to go and win another title. He has so much experience, and you can see that in how he manages Celtic to silverware. Even when fans and people are talking and aren't happy with certain results, he is still the right man to be at Celtic. The main thing for him is to go out and win the league and he will do that.”

While Sinclair, who won three league titles during his time with Celtic, says he holds a huge respect for how O’Neill has performed in his role as Celtic manager over the last 12 months, he admits he’d like to see the club go for a young manager when he eventually decides to step down at Parkhead.

Tensions between the Celtic board and the fanbase have risen again in recent weeks, with fan group The Green Brigade staging a boycott of games. Claiming the disconnect between the board and the supporters has "never felt greater", the group say they won’t attend any Europa League or Scottish Cup games until the end of the campaign. Despite that, Sinclair has thrown his support behind the club’s hierarchy and backed them to make the right decision when it comes to replacing O’Neill in the future.

“When Martin is ready to step down, whoever goes in next, it would be exciting to have a young manager but that's up to the board to decide,” Sinclair told Andy's Bet Club. “When you bring someone in, they have to know the club and understand the expectations of such a massive football club but looking at history, they usually make the right call. So I'm sure they'll make the right decision whenever Martin decides to step down, but that will be totally his call when that happens.”

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