Underestimate Martin O’Neill At Your Peril — A New Generation Is Discovering What We Already Knew

There are Celtic supporters waking up this morning who weren’t even born the last time Martin O’Neill was doing this.

That’s perhaps the most remarkable part of all.

Celtic beat LASK 3-0 at Celtic Park last night, with Benjamin Nygren opening the scoring before Camilo Durán struck twice to put Celtic within touching distance of the Champions League league phase.

But for me, the biggest story was standing in the technical area.

Martin O’Neill.

Again.

There were perfectly legitimate questions asked when Celtic brought O’Neill back. Football moves quickly. Managers evolve. Tactics evolve. Players evolve.

And Martin is now 74 years old.

But underestimate that man because of the number on his birth certificate at your peril.

What comes with age is experience.

What comes with experience is wisdom.

And what comes with Martin O’Neill is a history at Celtic that most managers could only dream about.

The statistics surrounding Celtic’s European record since his first spell are ridiculous.

O’Neill was the manager when Celtic last won a European knockout tie, eliminating Barcelona in 2004. The season before that, he had taken Celtic all the way to the UEFA Cup final in Seville.

Think about that.

More than two decades have passed and Celtic have gone through countless managers, squads and millions upon millions of pounds worth of footballers.

Yet O’Neill remained the last man to do it.

Then, all these years later, Celtic found themselves needing him again.

His domestic return was already ridiculous enough.

He inherited a situation few expected him to turn around and proceeded to win football matches at an unbelievable rate.

The highest win percentage of any Celtic manager in history. Yet that percentage he actually increased and continues to do.

What looked like a rescue mission became another chapter in his Celtic story.

Now comes Europe.

Celtic’s Champions League qualifying record has been dreadful. Seven failures from nine attempts tells its own story.

Last season Celtic couldn’t score once across two legs and extra-time against Kairat Almaty.

Against LASK, Celtic scored three in 90 minutes.

And let’s not rewrite history because of the scoreline either.

LASK are a good football team.

They’re Austrian champions. They arrived in Glasgow fit, confident and scoring goals. They caused Celtic problems, particularly early in the game, and had two efforts ruled out.

They played with real intent and purpose on the ball.

This wasn’t some European pub team Celtic were entitled to batter.

Yet when the big moments arrived, O’Neill’s Celtic were ruthless.

Nygren’s finish was magnificent. Durán produced two moments of genuine quality. Colby Donovan stepped into a massive European occasion and looked completely at home.

And O’Neill got another big result.

Celtic aren’t through yet. Martin will be the first person telling his players exactly that as he did with the media immediately after the game.

But 3-0 is one hell of a position to be in heading to Austria.

Perhaps the nicest part of all this, though, is thinking about the younger Celtic supporters experiencing it.

Back then, Celtic Park on a European night felt different.

There was belief.

Juventus. Porto. Liverpool. Barcelona.

You genuinely felt Celtic could compete with anybody who walked through those doors.

There are teenagers watching Celtic today who know Martin O’Neill as the funny older Northern Irishman who came back when Celtic needed somebody.

They’re getting a wee sneaky peek now at what some of us were fortunate enough to experience the first time around.

Back then, Celtic Park on a European night felt different.

There was belief.

Juventus. Porto. Liverpool. Barcelona.

You genuinely felt Celtic could compete with anybody.

I’m not pretending we’re suddenly back there because of one victory over LASK.

But perhaps we’re seeing a little glimpse of that mentality again.

Twenty-one years after leaving Celtic, Martin O’Neill is back creating European nights for another generation.

Football may have changed.

Martin’s got a bit older.

But the big man still knows how to win football matches.

Some things never change.