THE LAST TIME Martin O’Neill took Celtic to face Dundee in a league game at Dens Park was November 28 2004.
The 74-year-old Irishman will repeat the journey on Sunday – and is well aware a repeat of the previous scoreline will almost certainly put the kybosh on any hopes of the Hoops winning a fifth successive title.
The Hoops dropped two points in a dismal 2-2 draw against opponents who were bottom of the league at the time.
It was a result that would come back to bite the Parkhead men as they infamously conceded the league on the last game of the season when they crashed 2-1 to Motherwell at Fir Park, Rangers beat Hibs 1-0 at Easter Road and the championship was lost by a solitary point.
WELCOME TO CELTIC…Martin O’Neill with Juninho in the summer of 2004, but there was no place for the Brazilian winger at Dens Park in November.
Celtic, looking for the fourteenth crown in 15 years and a record 56th overall in their glorious history, go into the weekend encounter against Steven Pressley’s side five points adrift of leaders Hearts and two behind Danny Rohl’s Ibrox club.
The Glasgow club have already stumbled at the venue this time around when they flopped to a mystifying 2-0 reverse on October 19, Brendan Rodgers’ second last league game in charge of the team.
A repeat of that result and the final six Premiership games of the season will be just about meaningless – unless, of course, the other contenders drop points at the same time.
Back in November 2004, O’Neill’s men were stunned when Steven Lovell fired the hosts, then managed by ex-Celtic Jim Duffy, into the lead in the 35th minute.
Mark Fotheringham, who will be part of the Hoops backroom team on Sunday, set up the goal with a neat pass to the striker who made no mistake from close range.
JOY BHOY…John Hartson celebrates another Celtic goal.
But Henri Camara equalised early in the second-half and, shortly after the hour mark, John Hartson scored his 15th goal of the term.
However, with just 14 minutes to go, the visitors were caught out again when Lovell claimed his second and the club’s equaliser with a lob over Magnus Hedman.
O’Neill had gone into the confrontation without suspended pair Chris Sutton and Alan Thompson and had decided against starting summer signing Juninho.
Instead, he preferred to include youngster Aiden McGeady.
The team that day was: Hedman; Agathe, Valgaeren, Balde, McNamara; McGeady, Lennon, Petrov, Pearson; Hartson, Camara. Subs: Marshall, Sylla, Juninho Paulista, Lambert, Laursen, Wallace, Lawson.
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