MARTIN O’NEILL has warned his Celtic players of the perils of a false start in Sunday’s Scottish Cup quarter-final clash at Ibrox.
Last weekend, the champions were trailing 2-0 in Govan and three crucial points were in danger of being conceded.
However, there was a dramatic transformation after the turnaround in which the Hoops levelled with goals from Kieran Tierney and Reo Hatate during a tension-laden encounter.
The focus on this occasion is to win a place in the last four of the competition and the interim manager has stressed the urgency of a fast start.
O’Neill said: “That would be important for us. If we play like we did in the first-half, we shouldn’t turn up, but the second-half gave us great confidence and the ability to know that we can fight back.
“I think it’s a testament to the players’ character as much as anything else.
“If we could win the game and get into the semi-final that would be great, but will it have a bearing on the way the league is going to pan out? I’m really not so sure.
“There are tough matches ahead for us and the other sides concerned, so I really don’t know.
“I suppose if you got beaten in the game, it’s how quickly you can get over it.”
Welcoming the visiting support back to the Broomloan Road end of the stadium following an absence of eight years, O’Neill, speaking to Celtic TV, continued: “The fans will be cheering don’t worry about that, they will be cheering.
“We would need to start better than we did in the previous game, but, you never know, we might be the team that starts really brightly and we might be the team holding on at the end.
“So, it’s a different game, but we cannot afford to go as long a period and not doing too well.
“Because you can actually not be in control of the whole match, that’s the point, you wouldn’t expect to do, you’re away from home.
“And you can be out of a game for 10 or 15/20 minutes, as long as you hang in there during the course of that time, but in that 15/20 minutes you’re out, the game can go beyond you.
“So, I’m not a soothsayer, I don’t know what’s going to happen on Sunday, but we do need to start better.”
Images courtesy Celtic TV.
Kieran Tierney, who was on the receiving end of a nasty challenge from Toyosi Olusanya in the 2-1 win at Aberdeen in midweek, is a doubt with a foot injury.
Keeper Kasper Schmeichel returned to Lennoxtown today after sitting out the last three games in which Viljami Sinisalo has stepped up.
Delivering an update on the players, O’Neill added: “The injury to Kieran’s foot is clearing up, but he’s just generally sore in every aspect.
“We’ll see how he is tomorrow, but generally speaking, he’s done fabulous for us. He is now getting back to almost-complete fitness, which is great.
“Kasper trained today for the first time since the injection, so we’ll see how he is tomorrow, as well.
“The young goalkeeper, Viljami Sinisalo, has done really fine for us, too.”
On-loan Marcelo Saracchi, who replaced Tierney at Ibrox and Pittodrie in the past two outings, is standing by to get the nod to start in place of the World Cup-bound left-back.
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