Martin O'Neill claims Celtic crowd unity reminds him of the 'old days' as Parkhead boss issues rallying cry
Celtic’s title fate is now in their own hands after the victory over Rangers as they now prepare to face Motherwell
Celtic boss Martin O’Neill said the scenes at Parkhead on Sunday after their 3-1 Old Firm victory took him back to his first spell at the club over two decades ago.
A first half Yang Hyun-jun strike and second half Daizen Maeda brace overturned Mikey Moore’s opener against Rangers to put Celtic a point behind leaders Hearts, who were held to a 1-1 draw at Motherwell. It’s now the Hoops’ turn to head to Fir Park on Wednesday night as they look to set up the dramatic final day all-or-nothing decider against the Jambos.
In front of a 60,000 strong home crown in the East End of Glasgow on Sunday, the Hoops boss was happy to see every stand at Celtic Park celebrating in harmony, something which hasn’t always been the case this season. Throughout the campaign, protests against the board have been aplenty, while the Green Brigade ban impacted the atmosphere. However, with two games to go, the feel-good factor at Celtic Park appears to be re-emerging at a crucial stage.
O’Neill claims crowd reminded him of ‘old days’
He said: “We’ve got some players who are in really good form, which is the most important thing. I think there’s a good connection with the team and the fans. I think that’s been an important issue. Celtic Park on Sunday was just was kind of reminiscent of my old days anyway and that’s been great. But we’ve gone away from home and we’ve won some big matches as well too, so just a combination of all of those things gives us a chance anyway.
"What I do feel is that the crowd have been really, really big. I think it's a combination of us winning some football matches, trying to get together, and some sort of accord between the board and the fans. I think all combinations of those things have been terrific, really terrific."
Earlier in the season, Celtic fans threw objects onto the pitch in a protest against the club’s hierarchy during a Europa League match against Stuttgart, a method O’Neill described at the time as ‘unhelpful’. However, he claims since then the crowd have been ‘different’.
He added: "I know I said this to you before, when the crowd have been different, let's put it that way, to begin with, and throwing things onto the pitch, I thought it wasn't really affecting players. I think that the game against Stuttgart, when things were thrown on, I didn't think that helped anybody."
O’Neill on Motherwell test and Askou links
Steelmen boss Jens Berthel Askou recently became the bookies favourite to be O’Neill’s successor once he leaves at the end of the season. While the Celtic boss was full of praise for the way his opposite number has handled his side, he also warned him that the standards at Parkhead are a lot different to those at Fir Park, if he were to get the job.
He added: “I think he’s done really well, really well. Yes, they play a nice brand of football as well too, but yes, he deserves a lot of applause and I’m sure they’ll be hoping to qualify for Europe. But essentially, they’re not playing under that sort of pressure at Motherwell. You can do this, and you can play, and you can lose some matches and still have a really good season. It doesn’t happen at this club.”
O’Neill confirmed there were no fresh injury concerns ahead of the Motherwell clash as he hopes to do better than Wilfried Nancy’s side done the last time they went to Fir Park, when the hosts prevailed 2-0. Elsewhere, Hearts host Falkirk at Tynecastle in what is also their penultimate fixture of the season.