Martin O’Neill has revealed how he regretted trolling the Rangers fans after receiving dog’s abuse when he stepped off the bus as Celtic boss for a game at Ibrox having already wrapped up the league title.
The Irishman romped to the title in his first season in charge at Parkhead and went to the home of their fierce rivals as champions - just as Ange Postecoglou will do at Ibrox on Saturday. Celtic won the league by 15 points and with the pressure off put on a show in Govan in April 2001 with Lubo Moravcik netting a double and Henrik Larsson scoring his 50th goal of the season in a derby stroll - their first win at Ibrox in six-and-a-half years.
Postecoglou can look forward to a similar scenario on Saturday with his side making it back to back title successes under the Aussie with a win at Hearts last week. And the Celtic boss will face the unusual scenario of of having no visiting support at Ibrox.
O’Neill, speaking on talkSPORT, described the scene when he went there 22 years ago and how a pre-match wind-up sparked a furious reaction. He said: “The bus parks pretty well close to the entrance of Ibrox. You want it as close as possible at times - in fact you want that bus to actually go straight into the dressing so you don’t have to face the wrath of the crowd!
“It’s a lovely feeling to step off the bus. And I remember that time when we had won it. There was a break in the league after 33 games and we’d already won the league so we went to Ibrox. You climb off the bus and still expect all the boos and jeers. And we got them alright!
“And I remember just turning round round and saying - and I thought it was under my breath but it was loud enough for them to hear - ‘Champions!’. Well…you know sometimes you regret something you’ve said. We got dog’s abuse and that 10-yard walks seemed like 150 miles.
“But we got into the stadium and the sanctuary of the dressing room and performed brilliantly, winning by three goals. Lubo Moravcik scored twice in the game and we were terrific but the pressure was off because we’d won the league.
“Moravcik is the best two-footed player I’ve ever worked with, now question. He had unbelievable ability and we should be talking about him as one of Europe’s best. Unfortunately I got him when he was about 35. I inherited him, Doctor Venglos brought him in. A 26 or 27-year-old Moravcik must have been some player - you should hear what Zinedine Zidane says about him, incredibly complimentary.”
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