The two bosses will face off in the Scottish Cup final next month after the Hoops saw off St Mirren in the semi-final

17:44, 19 Apr 2026Updated 02:05, 20 Apr 2026

Celtic 6 St Mirren 2 – Best of the Scottish Cup action

Neil Lennon urged his mentor Celtic boss Martin O’Neill to remain tight-lipped on the story of signing him as a player before they face off in the Scottish Cup Final.

A day after Lennon’s Dunfermline Athletic side defeated Falkirk on penalties to book their spot in the showpiece, they were joined by Celtic.

The Hoops were taken to extra-time by St Mirren, but ran out comfortable 6-2 winners over the Buddies by the full-time whistle.

Speaking to Premier Sports, O’Neill was quizzed on whether he was relishing a showdown with Lennon – who he brought to Leicester as a player in 1996, before snapping him up for the Glasgow giants in 2000.

He said: “I probably am. He has been fantastic for me, there is no point in praising him any higher, both at Leicester and at Celtic. A major player for us, yeah, and his record in management is second to none.”

Host Emma Dodds noted that it was around 30 years since O’Neill brought Lennon to the Foxes. O’Neill went on: “Well, I’m going to tell you a story…”

Lennon quickly interrupted: “No, don’t tell them the story.”

O’Neill continued: “Myself and the late, great John Robertson – we wanted to go up to his place. We decided years and years ago that Brian Clough wouldn’t Roy McFarland’s house – who was at Tranmere at the time – until he signed for Derby. We felt were were going to do exactly the same, and that is what we did – we stayed over night.”

Pundit Charlie Mulgrew chimed in: “What happened in that house? I want to know…”

Lennon joked: “It wasn’t what happened in the house, it was the state of the house. You had to wipe your feet on the way out.”

O’Neill laughed: “I am glad you said it.”

Luke McCowan of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s fourth goal with teammates

Looking at the game, Lennon added: “We have been waiting for this team to explode, and that 10 minute spell in extra time….”

O’Neill said: “Isn’t it amazing? You get that surge of confidence, you get with James [Forrest] finding space for Iheanacho to head in.”

The Pars boss then suffered a miscue – referring to the Hoops as “us”. “He is a big player for Forrest, isn’t he?”

O’Neill rounded off: “Yes, I would have rather had him at 24 rather than 54.”

Lennon noted: “I did have him at 24…” O’Neill added: “Special player, special lad.”

Tune in to Hotline Live every Sunday to Thursday and have your say on the biggest issues in Scottish football and listen to Record Sport’s newest podcast, Game On, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.

Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources. Click HERE.