The Northern Ireland manager has praised the Ibrox star’s international record, comparing him to a football legend.
The Ibrox man is in line to win his 113th cap for his country tonight against Germany, placing him second on the nation’s all-time appearance list.
Goalkeeper Pat Jennings holds the record with 119 caps and O’Neill believes that the Steven Gerrard signing will one day break through that barrier too.
As quoted by The Daily Mail, O’Neill also brought a bold Ronaldo comparison into his praise of the player: “Whenever he does hang up his boots, which hopefully will be after I’ve left this job, he will rightly be remembered as one of the greatest players we’ve ever had.
“Last night I was watching Cristiano Ronaldo play at 34 years of age for his country and what it means to him, and that’s why international football is so special. Steven deserves to be talked about in that breath because I believe he will go on and break Pat Jennings’ record.”
Has O’Neill taken that too far?
Clearly the Northern Ireland boss isn’t directly comparing the two players, however, yes it’s a bit strange to see Davis mentioned alongside an all-time great like Ronaldo.
In the context of the country he manages though, Davis is hugely influential and has never given less than his absolute best to turn out for Northern Ireland time and again, even when playing at an elite level in the Premier League.
International football can quite often be cast aside by players when they reach a certain stage in their career, but Davis has prioritised it well into his 30s.
It hasn’t taken away from the impact he’s made at Rangers either. The midfielder is seen as one of the team’s best players since arriving for a second spell at Ibrox in January.
Now 34, it doesn’t appear he has any intention of letting those standards slip any time soon.
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