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By CALUM CROWE Published: 04: 00 AEDT, 28 February 2026 | Updated: 04: 00 AEDT, 28 February 2026 View comments Given that Celtic won last season’s league title by a margin of 17 points, you would be forgiven for thinking their superiority was reflected in the head-to-head clashes with Rangers. Nothing could be further from the truth. Results in Old Firm derbies over the past 18 months do not make favourable reading for the green half of Glasgow. The Parkhead side haven’t beaten Rangers over 90 minutes since September 2024. Heading into Sunday’s clash at Ibrox, it’s a run which now stretches to seven matches. During that period, Celtic have faced a succession of different Rangers managers in Philippe Clement, Barry Ferguson, Russell Martin and Danny Rohl. Yes, they have won a couple of derbies in the League Cup since then, via extra-time and penalties, but the failure to beat their rivals over 90 minutes is a strange quirk. With Martin O’Neill and his players seeking to end that dismal run this weekend, Daily Mail Sport takes a look at some of the big issues facing the Celtic boss and what must change if they are to emerge victorious this time around. O'Neill has some big decisions to make if he is to gain upper hand over Rangers BE BOLD AND DROP KASPER SCHMEICHEL Schmeichel has had a brilliant career and initially did really well for Celtic when he was signed on a free transfer to replace Joe Hart in the summer of 2024. But, having turned 39 last November, this has ultimately been a season too far for the veteran Danish goalkeeper. His demise can be traced as far back as the tail end of last season, when his blunder in the Scottish Cup final against Aberdeen sent the game to extra-time and penalties. With question marks over his fitness, the Danish FA had to release a statement in his defence last year after a journalist in his homeland was accused of ‘fat shaming’ him in an article. Schmeichel’s form for Celtic has been poor for the majority of this season, with fans turning on him and booing him in the Europa League defeat to Stuttgart at Parkhead last week. That was the latest entry in what has become an extensive list of Schmeichel blunders over recent months, albeit O’Neill seems determined to stick with him. But Schmeichel’s inability to keep out even the most routine shots is becoming something of a running joke. In the limited opportunities he has had, Viljami Sinisalo has proven himself to be a solid goalkeeper. At 24, the Finn could be the future. He was given the nod as Celtic beat Stuttgart in Germany on Thursday night and looked hugely impressive as he kept a clean sheet. O’Neill said that he was always likely to play in that game, as if it was just a rotation call. But Sinisalo deserves to keep his place. It’s time he was given a proper chance, and Schmeichel taken out of the firing line. Kasper Schmeichel has not impressed this season and should be dropped for Old Firm clash CHANGE SHAPE AND GO WITH A 3-5-2 This was the system that became a staple of O’Neill’s first spell in charge 25 years ago, laying the platform for seven major trophies, as well as reaching a UEFA Cup final in Seville. Granted, Celtic do not have any centre-halves at the moment who could match the power and physicality of Johan Mjallby, Bobo Balde and Joos Valgaeren. Nor is there a Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton or John Hartson up front, or a Neil Lennon, Paul Lambert and Stan Petrov in midfield. But that’s not really the point. The Rangers squad don’t have the same star quality that the Ibrox side had 25 years ago either. In terms of the players at his disposal right now, changing to a 3-5-2 could actually be a better fit for O’Neill. Wilfried Nancy was pilloried for going with a back three during his brief and bewildering spell in charge - and rightly so, given the personnel he chose to deploy within that system. With O’Neill, it would be round pegs in round holes. A back three of Kieran Tierney, Liam Scales and either Benjamin Arthur or Dane Murray would provide a bit of extra cover, with Marcelo Saracchi and Julian Araujo playing as the wing-backs.   The midfield three would be Callum Mc Gregor, Benjamin Nygren and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, with a front two of Daizen Maeda and Tomas Cvancara.   It’s a system that would maximise the talent available at the moment, rather than persisting with the 4-3-3. TARGET JOHN SOUTTAR AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE Souttar recently signed a new contract with Rangers, but his form at the moment is not good. In the game against Hearts at Ibrox a fortnight ago, Claudio Braga gave him the runaround and he was badly at fault when the Portuguese forward rose to plant a header into the corner which put Hearts 2-1 up on the day. Souttar was also very shaky at times in the 2-2 draw at Livingston last weekend, with one of their set-piece goals coming directly from his mistake. The narrative around Rangers for much of the season has been that Manny Fernandez and Nasser Djiga are the two liabilities in central defence, with Souttar the old head and more reliable operator. But it’s actually Fernandez who has emerged as the club’s best centre-back over recent months. The improvement in his all-round game has been significant. Souttar’s recent form means he could be exposed as a weak link in the Rangers defence, especially if Celtic can deliver some good crosses for Cvancara to attack in the air. Celtic need to target Rangers defender John Souttar in the Old Firm clash on Sunday BE CLINICAL AND MAKE A FAST START The title race is on a knife edge. With so much on the line, there is going to be so much tension inside Ibrox on Sunday and both sets of players are bound to feel it. Danny Rohl spoke about this a few weeks ago when Rangers were booed off at half-time while leading 1-0 against a Kilmarnock team who had been reduced to 10 men. He clearly wasn’t happy with the reaction from the home crowd. How will they be if Celtic come flying out the traps and get an early goal? The opposite can also be true, of course. If Rangers start well and go in front, the place will be rocking. But, from Celtic’s point of view, they could potentially turn the Ibrox crowd against their own team and make it a really difficult environment for Rohl’s players. There is still a lot of scar tissue among the Rangers support from the start of the season after what they witnessed under Russell Martin. There is still occasionally a sense that some of those wounds haven’t fully healed, that this team can’t fully be trusted to deliver when the pressure is on. Celtic played well for 45 minutes in the derby at the turn of the year, before going on to lose 3-1. They missed a load of chances in the first half of that match. Showing a more clinical edge will be of the utmost importance this time around. MAKE SMART DECISIONS AND KEEP 11 PLAYERS ON THE FIELD Look at Celtic’s two most recent matches in which they have dropped points in the Premiership; the 2-2 draw away at Hearts in January, and 2-1 home defeat to Hibs last weekend. They went down to ten men in both games after Auston Trusty was sent off - and went on to concede a late goal on both occasions. Listen, they may well have conceded those goals with 11 players on the pitch, but going down to 10 men certainly didn’t do them any favours. You have to look at the stupidity involved last weekend when Trusty lashed out and struck Hibs’ Jamie Mc Grath as the pair tussled at a set-piece. O’Neill has had his say this week on the VAR process, with Celtic also releasing a weak statement which looked distinctly like they were clutching at straws. What Trusty did was naive and needless. He gave the officials a decision to make. His action was so aggressive that it was always likely to be deemed violent conduct. The American won’t be around tomorrow as he serves his ban, but Celtic need to be smarter. They can’t fall into any traps, and must ensure they keep a full complement of players on the field.

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