Former Rangers manager Danny Röhl has bizarrely claimed Celtic supporters were “a little bit scared” of him after his name was mockingly belted out from the stands at Parkhead last season.
The German was serenaded by the home support as Celtic defeated Rangers in the post-split derby, but he appears to have interpreted the ridicule rather differently.
Röhl failed to get the better of Martin O’Neill across four meetings between the pair, recording draws and defeats against the legendary Celtic boss, including two costly cup encounters.
Celtic supporters increasingly targeted the Rangers manager as his side’s season unravelled, with his name sung from the terraces in clear mockery rather than admiration.
Röhl, however, insists the chanting proved the Celtic support feared the challenge he was building at Ibrox.
He told RecordSport: “How many Rangers managers have had the Celtic fans singing a song against him? That day, 61,000 people sang my song against me. I couldn’t have imagined this, it was incredible.
“I think it showed how much our fans loved me and how much Celtic fans were a little bit scared about me as well.
“They were worried when we had Rangers challenging them again. It was unbelievable to have 61,000 singing that.
“People think I didn’t like it, but no. It showed me something. They weren’t celebrating their own team, they went against the Rangers manager.
“It shows me how much we were challenging them. They were more concerned with the Rangers manager than their own team. That was another part of my Old Firm experience.”
The reality was rather different.
Celtic fans were not scared of Röhl. They were laughing at him.
Rangers had entered the split believing they still had a genuine opportunity to win the Premiership, only to lose four of their final five matches as their title challenge collapsed.
Celtic, guided by O’Neill, went on to lift the trophy in May.
Röhl then departed Ibrox during the summer to take charge of RB Salzburg, paving the way for Derek McInnes to become the latest manager tasked with closing the gap on Celtic.
For all his talk of having Celtic worried, Röhl left Scotland without defeating O’Neill and without delivering the title Rangers had convinced themselves was within reach.
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