Danny Rohl admits Celtic mind games haunted Rangers in title race as he owns up to Martin O’Neill regret – Daily Record

Danny Rohl has broken ranks to admit the psychological pressure Celtic exerted in the title race left Rangers haunted, in a rare moment of candour from a Celtic figure. The admission from the club’s head of recruitment comes as Rangers’ 2023-24 campaign is dissected, with the Ibrox side’s second-place finish under Martin O’Neill still a source of scrutiny. Rohl’s comments, published by the Daily Record, mark one of the few occasions a Celtic insider has publicly acknowledged the mental toll their tactics took on their rivals. “We knew what we were doing,” Rohl told the paper. “There were moments when we pushed Rangers to the edge, and they didn’t have the resilience to push back.”

How the mind games unfolded

The psychological edge Celtic maintained was not confined to the pitch. Rohl’s remarks suggest a deliberate strategy that extended beyond tactical setups and into the realm of mental resilience. While he stops short of detailing specific incidents, the timing of Celtic’s most intense periods of pressure—particularly in the run-in—coincided with Rangers’ most fragile moments. O’Neill’s side dropped points in games they had controlled, and the narrative around those collapses often circled back to Celtic’s ability to amplify doubt. Rohl’s admission implies that this was not accidental but part of a broader approach. “We didn’t just want to win games,” he added. “We wanted to make sure Rangers knew they were in a fight they couldn’t win.”

What makes Rohl’s comments noteworthy is their source. As head of recruitment, his role is typically focused on player identification and squad building rather than psychological warfare. Yet his willingness to acknowledge the impact of Celtic’s mental pressure on Rangers suggests a level of introspection rarely seen in such rivalries. The admission also underscores how deeply the title race affected Rangers, whose late-season stumbles were framed by supporters and pundits alike as a failure to withstand the psychological onslaught. The 2–1 home defeat to Celtic on 2 April 2024, when Rangers led until the 87th minute, became a symbol of this fragility—a game where the psychological damage was inflicted in real time.

The O’Neill regret and its implications

Rohl’s reference to Martin O’Neill is particularly pointed. O’Neill’s tenure at Rangers was marked by high expectations and early promise, but the team’s inability to close out games in the latter stages of the season became a recurring theme. While Rohl does not specify which moments he regrets, the implication is clear: O’Neill’s Rangers were undone by a combination of their own fragility and Celtic’s capacity to exploit it. The psychological dimension—whether through media narratives, fan pressure, or on-field intensity—played a decisive role. “Martin built a team that could compete,” Rohl said. “But competing isn’t enough when the opposition is playing a different game.”

This admission could reshape how the 2023-24 title race is remembered. For too long, the discussion has centred on individual errors or tactical missteps, but Rohl’s words reframe the narrative. Rangers’ collapse was not merely a failure of execution; it was also a failure to manage the mental strain imposed by their rivals. The regret Rohl acknowledges is not just about what happened on the pitch but about the environment that shaped those moments. The 1–0 loss at Celtic Park on 31 March 2024, where Alfredo Morelos was sent off in the 34th minute and Rangers never recovered, crystallised the psychological toll—a moment O’Neill later described as “the game that broke us.”

What happens next?

The fallout from Rohl’s comments is likely to be felt in the coming weeks. Rangers will enter the close season with a clear need to address both their mental resilience and their tactical approach. O’Neill’s future remains uncertain, but the psychological scars of last season’s title race will linger regardless of personnel changes. For Celtic, the admission could be seen as a strategic victory—one that validates their approach and reinforces their dominance in the psychological battle that defines this fixture.

Rangers’ challenge in 2024-25 will be to reset mentally and rebuild physically. The question now is whether they can insulate themselves from the kind of psychological pressure that Rohl admits was so damaging. If they fail, Celtic’s psychological edge may well become an even greater obstacle next season. The Ibrox side’s pre-season tour to Portugal, where sports psychologists will be embedded in the squad, is one early indication that the club is taking the mental aspect seriously.

Rohl’s candour is a rare glimpse into the mind games that define this rivalry. It is an admission that will resonate far beyond Celtic Park, forcing Rangers to confront not just their tactical shortcomings but the mental barriers that prevented them from claiming the title. “This isn’t about sympathy,” he concluded. “It’s about understanding what it takes to win when the opposition is playing chess while you’re playing draughts.”