MARTIN O’NEILL bridged a remarkable 21-year gap by guiding Celtic to a Scottish Cup triumph to seal the double after last weekend’s title triumph.
The charismatic Irishman last celebrated a silverware success at Hampden back in 2005.
It was his seventh trophy in five years as Hoops manager and he – like everyone else – thought it would be the last time he held the trophy aloft and accepted the acclaim of thousands of joyous Hoops fans.
O’Neill took a year out after leaving Parkhead before returning to the game as boss at Aston Villa.
But, incredibly, the 74-year-old gaffer was catapulted back into the spotlight this season when he answered the Celtic SOS twice following the rapid exit of Brendan Rodgers in late October and the chaotic 33 days of the wretched Wilfried Nancy in December and early January.
THE CUP THAT CHEERS…Martin O’Neill proudly parades the gleaming silverware after Celtic’s 43rd Scottish Cup victory at Hampden.
O’Neill displayed extraordinary courage and fortitude to accept the daunting challenge on both occasions and at Hampden yesterday he was rewarded with his second glittering prize in eight days.
It’s been a bewildering and memorable turn of events and it was joy overload as he gripped the Scottish Cup following the 3-1 victory over Neil Lennon’s gallant Dunfermline side in the sunshine at the national stadium.
First-half goals from Daizen Maeda and Arne Engels got the show on the road and Kelechi Iheanacho added a mesmerising third before Josh Cooper struck a late consolation effort for the Fifers.
A beaming O’Neill said: “I feel ecstatic. I never thought that I’d manage Celtic again, but to end up winning the double is just the best feeling in the world.
“It was lovely to get on the field and see the Celtic fans, and us winning the game, which was a culmination of the second part of the season.
“We ended up winning the league a week ago and you just couldn’t make it up.”
The veteran coach, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “I thought we had a lot of possession in the first-half, Daizen scored again and I thought we should have pushed on more strongly when we got the first goal.
THE BEST OF ENEMIES…Neil Lennon sportingly holds Martin O’Neill’s arm aloft in the aftermath of Celtic’s Scottish Cup triumph over Dunfermline.
“We didn’t and we took the sting out of the game. Then we got the second goal and you feel you’ve got a bit of a cushion.
“We took that into the second-half, but I knew Neil Lennon wouldn’t lie down and would come roaring back. The first 10 or 15 minutes belonged to Dunfermline.
“Iheancho scored the third goal, and he’s become a cult hero, so we were able to withstand the goal that Dunfermline scored.”
O’Neill smiled and added: “It does actually feel great, I must admit. It genuinely does.
“To come back and manage Celtic is like something I could never have dreamed of, but to come back and be part of a winning team is just brilliant.”
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