Celtic F.C. legend criticises Danny Röhl over major Martin O’Neill mistake

Paul Lambert believes Danny Röhl made a significant error earlier this season by attempting to engage in mind games with former Celtic F.C. boss Martin O’Neill.

The former Celtic midfielder criticised Röhl for comments made after Celtic’s defeat to Stuttgart in February, when the Rangers manager questioned why the Scottish champions had not pushed harder for goals while trying to overturn a 4-1 first-leg deficit.

Speaking after Rangers’ 3-1 defeat at Parkhead, Lambert suggested Röhl crossed the line by publicly targeting O’Neill and Celtic’s approach.

According to Lambert, the German coach should never have tried to challenge O’Neill in the media and would have been better served receiving guidance from Rangers’ communications staff before making those remarks.

The Celtic legend also questioned Röhl’s overall performance at Ibrox, insisting results and trophies are ultimately what define success at Rangers. Lambert argued that failing to win silverware is simply unacceptable for a club of Rangers’ stature.

While admitting he does not know Röhl personally, Lambert stressed that surviving in the Old Firm environment requires winning consistently, something Rangers supporters demand above all else.

He also warned that even a second-place finish is viewed negatively at Ibrox, making the prospect of finishing third entirely unacceptable in the eyes of the fanbase.

Meanwhile, Celtic remain firmly in the Premiership title race despite suffering eight league defeats this season. The Hoops have closed the gap on leaders Heart of Midlothian F.C. to just one point and could reclaim the title by winning their remaining fixtures against Motherwell F.C. and Hearts.

Despite their poor record by championship-winning standards, Celtic are still on course to potentially lift the league trophy with the highest number of defeats recorded by a title-winning side in a 38-game Scottish top-flight season for more than 90 years.

Their eight losses this campaign have come against Dundee, Hearts twice, Dundee United F.C. twice, Hibernian F.C., Motherwell and Rangers.