A day after Lennon’s Dunfermline Athletic<\/a> side defeated Falkirk on penalties to book their spot in the showpiece, they were joined by Celtic.<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/a><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n 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…”<\/p>\n Lennon quickly interrupted: “No, don’t tell them the story.”<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n Pundit Charlie Mulgrew chimed in: “What happened in that house? I want to know…”<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n O’Neill laughed: “I am glad you said it.”<\/p>\n Luke McCowan of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s fourth goal with teammates <\/p>\n Looking at the game, Lennon added: “We have been waiting for this team to explode, and that 10 minute spell in extra time….”<\/p>\n 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.”<\/p>\n The Pars boss then suffered a miscue – referring to the Hoops as “us”. “He is a big player for Forrest, isn’t he?”<\/p>\n O’Neill rounded off: “Yes, I would have rather had him at 24 rather than 54.”<\/p>\n Lennon noted: “I did have him at 24…” O’Neill added: “Special player, special lad.”<\/p>\n Tune in to Hotline Live<\/a> 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<\/a>, every Friday for your sporting fix, all in bitesize chunks.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0_JS403510713.jpg\")
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