O’Neill wary of wounded Rangers

CELTIC manager Martin O’Neill claims the first Old Firm battle of the season will help pick a battered Rangers up off the floor. The Ibrox club were in a state of shock yesterday after their harrowing UEFA Cup exit at the hands of Viktoria Zizkov on Thursday night.

But the Parkhead boss is certain the Rangers players will still be relishing tomorrow’s big Glasgow showdown at Parkhead. O’Neill insisted: ‘‘I personally don’t believe that it will have any bearing at all on this match. It’s a one-off game and I know from my own experience that these games mean a lot to the players.

‘‘Last season when we played them in November we had just played in Valencia, which was a very difficult game, and despite doing all the travelling we came back to play Rangers and won the game.