MARTIN O’NEILL believes his five seasons at Celtic are only surpassed by the achievements of Jock Stein’s Lisbon Lions.
The ebullient Northern Irishman took over at Parkhead exactly TWENTY-FOUR YEARS ago today to kick-start an extraordinary silverware landslide.
And O’Neill insists the class of 2003 should have followed Stein’s side by lifting a European trophy.
The gaffer, now 72, quit Leicester City to arrive at the Hoops in the aftermath of the so-called Dream Team of Kenny Dalglish and John Barnes that had backfired so spectacularly.
HAIL HAIL…Martin O’Neill accepts the accolade of the Celtic fans.
The Liverpool double-act didn’t quite deliver the expected dividends and Barnes was fired following the Scottish Cup exit from Inverness Caley Thistle in February 2000.
Dalglish, who has been appointed Director of Football, took over dug-out duties and delivered the League Cup following a 2-0 victory over Aberdeen in the Final.
O’Neill was brought in on June 1 2000 and he led the team to their first treble in 32 years following Stein’s side in 1968/69, the legendary Lions’ second such feat in three years.
He went on to win three championships, three Scottish Cups and a League Cup – as many trophies as the Hoops had picked up in the previous EIGHTEEN years.
There could have been more silverware – the 2003 title was lost on goal difference before the Hoops blew the crown on the final day two years later.
HOOP HOOP HOORAY…Henrik Larsson is congratulated by a delighted Alan Thompson after one of his goals against Porto in Seville.
O’Neill, though, is still upset the team conceded the opportunity to add continental success to his list when they lost 3-2 in extra-time to Jose Mourinho’s Porto in Seville in 2003.
The extrovert team chief, who also had a spell in charge of the Republic of Ireland international team, said: “I still think the team we built should have won the UEFA Cup against a Porto side who would go on to win the Champions League a year later.
“We would all say that the best and most celebrated Celtic team is Stein’s 1967 side.
“It would be impossible to emulate that European Cup win and their glorious achievements.
“I’ll confess to not knowing too much what Celtic would have looked like in the thirties, fifties and whatnot, but I don’t think since 1967 there was a better Celtic than the one from our era.
DELIGHT AND DESPAIR…Stilyan Petrov celebrates a goal against a crestfallen Ibrox defence.
“We had young guys like Stiliyan Petrov who was energetic and hungry, we had the finesse of Henrik Larsson and Chris Sutton’s intelligence.
“We had real firepower down the flanks with Didier Agathe and Alan Thompson, we had the power of Bobo Balde in defence.
“The balance of that team was great, but it was the way they gelled together which made them a very good side.
“And what is frequently overlooked is that when it came to European football, they were all relative novices.
“We were playing against Juventus and Bayern Munich and never once did we think that we couldn’t compete. Whatever they might have stood accused of in terms of deficiencies there would be no-one who could have faulted a lack of spirit or endeavour.”
FINAL FAREWELL…Martin O’Neill and his crestfallen Celtic players acknowledge the supporters at the end of the epic UEFA Cup showdown in Seville in 2003.
Prior to O’Neill’s arrival, Celtic had lifted just THREE titles in 18 seasons – since the turn of the century, they have won EIGHTEEN in 24 years with Brendan Rodgers contributing three over his two stints.
The bid for 10 in a row ended in disaster in season 2020/21, but Ange Postecoglou arrived with the force of a whirlwind as he took over from Neil Lennon in June 2021 and propelled the club back on track with two consecutive crowns before Rodgers replaced the Spurs-bound boss last summer.
O’Neill added: “I think we lit the fuse. The place was just waiting for an enormous lift.
“You are sitting back and watching your rivals take over, you are playing second fiddle and it settles on you as a club.
“You wonder when you are ever getting out of the mess. Celtic were in the doldrums and I think we lifted it.
“Without wanting to be too immodest, I do think that team was the forerunner. I remember talking to the Lisbon Lions when I was just getting my feet under the desk.
BACK IN THE OLD ROUTINE…Brendan Rodgers capped his Celtic comeback with a league and Cup double as he holds aloft the Premiership silverware and (below) the Scottish Cup.
“I always remember their message being that, as Celtic fans, they would have a little bit of hope for a month or two then it quickly dissipated.
“The way we broke Rangers’ stranglehold would have been significant. When I first arrived, Dick Advocaat signed a load of players. He said that he wanted one team for the league and one for the Champions League.
“Well, you hear that kind of thing, you’re thinking: ‘Well, that might come back to bite’.
“Rangers were going into the Champions League and we were having to play a qualifier against Jeunesse Esch just to get into the UEFA Cup. But that was where we were as a club.”
Celtic achieved their 54th title with a 5-0 romp against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park on May 15 as Rodgers guided the team to their third successive flag victory with an eight-point advantage. He added a 42nd Scottish Cup 10 days later in the 1-0 Hampden victory over Rangers.
Taking into consideration the 21 League Cups and, of course, the European Cup, the Parkhead men have now amassed a breathtaking 118 honours.
Roll on the 2024/25 campaign!
