Celtic told they must 'bury' Rangers as Martin O'Neill 'doubts' grow

Martin O'Neill has been told he must "bury" Rangers ahead of their Scottish Premiership contest at Celtic Park next weekend.

This comes in the wake of Celtic's 3-0 defeat at Ibrox which saw Derek McInnes win his first Old Firm derby as Rangers boss despite their slow start to the season.

Expectations are high at Parkhead, but concerns have crept in about their record in big games following a heavy defeat to Rangers and the 5-1 loss against LASK in the Champions League.

Former Man United chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider that O'Neill is now under pressure to deliver a result and prove that the heavy defeat was just a blip for his side.

Celtic are currently six points clear of their rivals at the top of the league and have won every game so far, but failure to deliver results in the biggest games could lead to frustrations.

After their European failings earlier this season, and now having been eliminated from the Premeir Sports Cup, another significant defeat could see fans voice their frustrations.

Could Martin O'Neill come under pressure at Celtic?

Football Insider reported in May that O'Neill was likely to land the permanent Celtic job in the wake of their 3-1 win against Rangers in the closing stages of last season.

The boss knows how much it means to beat Rangers, and will also understand the pressure that comes alongside the game and the need to take all three points.

After a disappointing result last time out, he has been told he needs to respond emphatically, or risk losing sections of the supporters.

"It's difficult to suggest Martin O'Neill should, or even could have done better at Celtic," Brown told Football Insider.

"He's done a brilliant job since he came back into the role, he's getting good results out of them and they're playing some good football, so it's all been very positive.

"But now they've lost that game to Rangers which is mega, they lost the game in Europe against LASK as well, so a few doubts are creeping in about these big games.

"I have no doubt, because I've experienced it before, losing games of that magnitude can be difficult for fans to accept, especially losing in the manner that Celtic did.

"So he's got to come back now and bury Rangers next week, to establish that the 3-0 defeat was just a blip, a one-off result.

"If it's anything more than that, and if Rangers turn up and get another big win next week, then bad feelings will start to foster at Celtic, that's the way it's always been.

"You can win as many games as you like against the other teams in the division, but if you can't win games against Rangers as the Celtic manager, then that's not good enough for the fans."

How important is the Old Firm clash for both managers?

Both O'Neill and McInnes know the importance of the Old Firm derby to the fans, and the potential ramifications of suffering defeats in the biggest games of the season.

Despite both clubs having suffered frustrating results in Europe this season, picking up results against their cross-city rivals would do wonders to ease the concerns.

Brown told Football Insider on 13 September that McInnes has saved his job at Rangers, such was the importance of their 3-0 victory at Ibrox last time out.

After a tough start to life at Ibrox, there were fears that a defeat at home against their biggest rivals could see large sections of the crowd turn against the manager.

O'Neill could now find himself in the same boat, and while the pressure on his position is nowhere near as intense, a defeat on 20 September could cause him problems.