O’Neill will sensationally step back into the derby fire at the age of 73 on Sunday as Celtic look to put a turbulent week behind them by clinching a spot in the Premier Sports Cup Final.
Martin O’Neill(Image: SNS Group)
Martin O’Neill will walk back into the Old Firm cauldron at Hampden today and warn his Celtic players ‘remember what you are representing’.
The veteran boss reckons mentality will be massive in the heat of battle for a spot in the Premier Sports Cup Final.
And he has urged his side to prove they can handle the expectation after a turbulent week that saw him step into the breach following Brendan Rodgers’ bombshell exit.
The national stadium will be split right down the middle with over 20,000 Hoops fans demanding a first derby win in four attempts since last December’s final.
And asked what he’ll tell his players before the run out, O’Neill said: “My message would be one: remember what you are representing for a start. And two: be up to the task. And this is a big task. But just be up to it.
“Sometimes these games do come down to mentality, absolutely.
“Going into it, it was important for us to win against Falkirk, that was the most important thing, but we also got a few goals and the players got a bit of confidence from their play. I thought some of their play was pretty decent.”
O’Neill has leaned on skipper Callum McGregor and experienced heads James Forrest and Kasper Schmeichel to help get his message across after a whirlwind few days..
In his five years as boss at the start of the Century the 73-year-old had sides littered with leaders. He admits there’s less “boisterous” characters in the squad now. But O’Neill is confident there’s still a core group of winners who know what it takes to come through high-pressure moments.
He said: “When I first came in I said to them that they have disturbed my coffee in London and why should I be coming all this way up to tell them what they should know, that they are actually very, very talented players.
“I’m not saying they are all winners, they are not. There is a group of young lads in the side. They’ve got a winning captain, Forrest has been around a long time as well.
“These boys should know how to win. It’s just a matter of reinforcing that and getting back to winning .
“Every side has had dips. They’ve had dips during the course of the season, you just have to try and come out of it.
“Winning the game against Falkirk was the most important thing. Just getting back to that.
“Callum’s a really good player. The back room staff were saying that is a normal thing for him. I thought he was terrific against Falkirk.
“I think outside Callum and the goalkeeper you wouldn’t have that many really boisterous characters.
“But my dressing room with the likes of Neil Lennon and all that group – outside a couple of fights with Balde and Stilyan Petrov when he had him by the neck – they were good, they were terrific.”
Daizen Maeda is back in contention for a start after climbing off the bench against Falkirk. And O’Neill said: “He is a big player for us, especially at this minute considering some of the players that are out.
“He is absolutely the talisman, there is no question about it.
“He got maybe the last 20-25 minutes of the game against Falkirk because that’s the time the physios were saying he was going to get, which was fine.
Daizen Maeda (L) and Celtic Interim Manager Martin O’Neill
“But he’s a big player for us and he’s been a really good player as I’ve watched the games from afar.”
O’Neill says he received good luck messages from fellow ex-Celtic bosses Neil Lennon and Gordon Strachan after returning to Parkhead.
And he admits whichever side emerges victorious today will receive a much-needed boost after a false start to the campaign.
He said: “That would give the whole dressing room an enormous lift.
“Of course, Rangers will think exactly the same in the state of their season. But for us, that would be terrific.
“I’ve had good moments at Hampden and I’ve had bad moments. In fact, Rangers beat us there one day in the Scottish Cup Final, Lovenkrands scored.
“I’ve tried to find out where he’s living for a number of years so I can shout ‘boo’ at him.”