O’Neill reflects on Celtic adventure
In an exclusive interview with Sky Sports, Martin O'Neill discusses his time at Celtic, the club's historic treble and the journey to that European final in 2003.
“It was not easy turning it around,” Martin O’Neill tells Sky Sports. “I think people think this. Celtic had only won one championship in the previous dozen or so years. When you see Celtic’s domination now, I think it really started from our turnaround twenty years ago.”
He is right. As Celtic prepare to chase that hallowed tenth title in a row, their dominance has become the norm. Supporters have seen Brendan Rodgers guide the club to back-to-back trebles, while Neil Lennon’s win percentage during his second spell is at a record high.
But such a grip over Scottish football seemed unfathomable at the turn of the century. The biggest achievement of the previous decade had been ending Rangers’ run of titles at nine. Embarking on their own such sequence appeared all but impossible back then.
O’Neill changed the mood. He not only won the title but retained it. Not only restored pride but reignited passions, taking Celtic on a long-awaited journey back to a European final.
The man who reversed the momentum is proud of the accomplishment.
Even if he did not see it coming.
O’Neill had shown promise at Wycombe Wanderers and beaten the odds at Leicester City. He had some silverware as a manager and pedigree as a player. But this was different.
Celtic was an institution. He was welcomed as a fellow supporter but any optimism that he felt at his unveiling was soon tempered by the strength of the club’s Glasgow rivals.
“I must admit, it was only when I got there that I realised how strong Rangers were,” says O’Neill. “I had stepped into a club that had been well beaten in the league in the previous year and we are talking about a club that had world-class players in their team.
“They had Ronald de Boer. They had Stefan Klos, who was a European Cup winner with Borussia Dortmund. They had Lorenzo Amoruso and Jorg Albertz. They had Michael Mols, who was a really good centre-forward with terrific technique.”
Celtic had just finished 21 points adrift of Rangers.
The adventures on the continent that would come to define his reign were a distant dream when O’Neill arrived. “My first European game was a qualifying match against a team from Luxembourg,” he recalls. “That was my introduction. That is how poor they had been.”
It was not obvious that Celtic had strengthened dramatically either. The club had lost Mark Viduka that summer with the Australian striker joining Leeds United after finishing as the top scorer in Scotland during the previous season. O’Neill used it to his advantage.
“Viduka leaving allowed me to buy Chris Sutton which helped immensely,” he explains. “He was a brilliant partner for Henrik Larsson so that worked out terrifically.”
Larsson had missed much of the previous season through injury after breaking his leg in two places in October 1999. At 28, there were doubts whether he would ever scale the heights that he had reached before but those soon went away.
He was spectacular under O’Neill.
Indeed, the Swede would go on to enjoy his best season in front of goal – finding the net 53 times and winning the European Golden Shoe in recognition of his 35 league goals.
“Henrik was in fantastic form that particular season,” says O’Neill before quickly correcting himself. “Sorry, he was in fantastic form every season that we had him.”
Larsson’s new strike partner proved the perfect foil.
“He really loved playing with Chris Sutton,” adds O’Neill.
“Sutton was a top-class player, there was no doubt about it. He had won the title in England with Blackburn Rovers. Going forward we became much more potent then.”
It was not just Sutton.
The key was that O’Neill constructed a team that brought the best out in their star player.
“I think Henrik would be the first one to agree with that. I signed Alan Thompson from Aston Villa. Didier Agathe came for £50,000 from Hibs. He was brilliant for us.
“I think what we did is that we gave Henrik more weaponry than he had ever had before. Thompson crossing from the one side and Didier Agathe on the other side.” บอลวันนี้ช่องไหน
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