MARTIN O’NEILL has every intention of kicking off in the Scottish Cup on Sunday in the same manner he brought his first stint as Celtic manager to a halt back on May 28 2005 – as a winner.
The interim manager ended his five-year association with the Parkhead club with his seventh honour – and third success in the national competition – with a 1-0 triumph over Dundee United at Hampden where Alan Thompson netted the silverware-clinching goal.
Now, almost 21 years later, O’Neill is up for the Cup once again as he prepares his squad for the intriguing fourth round tie against Auchinleck Talbot at Rugby Park on Sunday.
The 73-year-old gaffer has hit the ground running for the second time in a topsy-turvy campaign for the champions.
HAMPDEN HERO 2005…Martin O’Neill proudly holds aloft the Scottish Cup following Celtic’s 1-0 Final win over Dundee United – the Irishman’s last game of his five-year stint at the club.
Brendan Rodgers made a rapid exit after back-to-back league losses against Dundee at Dens Park and Hearts at Tynecastle, and O’Neill answered the first SOS in late October.
And the likeable Irishman stepped up again this month after Wilfried Nancy’s wretched sequence of six losses in eight games brought him a P45 just 33 days in the post.
After successive Premiership victories over Dundee United (4-0) and Falkirk (1-0), the stand-in boss now turns his attention to the trail that leads to Hampden.
Reflecting on his Scottish Cup memories, O’Neill, speaking to Celtic TV, said: “Some good and some bad, obviously winning it a few times, which is great.
“I’m looking forward to the game immensely, I’ve watched them now, so we’ve got to be really careful.
“They have some very, very decent attributes, they are a top-quality Junior side, no question about it, and they’ve got good players, as well.”
Celtic fans still shudder at the team’s mystifyingly off-colour display in the grand finale last season where they flopped to a penalty-kick shoot-out loss to Aberdeen following a 1-1 extra-time stalemate.
Success in the trophy this time around would go some way to making up for it.
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