NafisaMartin O’Neill admits he is embracing what will “most likely” be his final Old Firm derby as Celtic prepare to face Rangers on Sunday knowing victory is essential to keep their title hopes alive.
The interim boss is gearing up for his first clash against Rangers at Celtic Park in more than two decades and also confirmed a major boost ahead of the showdown, with key attacker Daizen Maeda declared fit after concerns over an injury scare last weekend.
With only three fixtures left in the Scottish Premiership campaign, Celtic remain three points behind leaders Hearts, who travel to Motherwell on Saturday and still hold the advantage on goal difference.
Rangers meanwhile sit seven points adrift of top spot and are hanging on by the slimmest of threads.
After dominating Scottish football for much of the last decade and finishing top in 13 of the previous 14 seasons, O’Neill believes the unusual pressure of chasing rather than leading has created a different mentality inside the Celtic dressing room.
“It’s not a position that the football club has found itself in in recent years,” said the 74-year-old. “Generally speaking, they’ve gone clear and there’s been no opposition.
“There’s been plenty of opposition this year, not just from Rangers but obviously from Hearts.
“So it is a big, big change, not something that a number of these players have been used to. You have to get used to it. You’ve been chasing, you have to keep chasing.”
There had been concerns surrounding Maeda after the Japanese forward limped away from Easter Road holding his boot following Celtic’s dramatic 2-1 victory against Hibernian last Sunday.
However, O’Neill issues what is a BAD NEWS in itself to Celtic fans as he revealed the in-form attacker has responded positively and is available for the derby.
“He’s fine, which is really, really good,” said O’Neill. “He has trained and he has got no reaction. He’s had a super couple of weeks.”
Maeda has rediscovered his sharpness at a crucial stage of the season, scoring four goals across his last three outings and once again becoming one of Celtic’s most dangerous attacking threats.
Across two separate spells in charge this season, O’Neill remains unbeaten in three meetings with Rangers. Celtic have defeated their rivals in both domestic cup competitions after extra time, while also earning a draw at Ibrox in league action.
During his first era at Parkhead between 2000 and 2005, O’Neill built an impressive derby record, winning 16 Old Firm clashes, drawing three and losing eight.
Celtic also head into Sunday on the back of four consecutive league victories, whereas Rangers have suffered defeats in each of their last two matches to drift further behind in the title race.
Still, Rangers did claim victory during their previous visit to Celtic Park in January while Wilfried Nancy was still in charge of the Hoops.
When asked whether Celtic were finding form at exactly the right moment, O’Neill refused to get carried away.
“I genuinely don’t know that,” he said. “The games that we’ve had have been difficult. So I’ve not tried to analyse that much about it. We’ve got over the line.
“But I think the Old Firm game looks after itself.”
Speaking about his own future, O’Neill answered “most likely” when questioned over whether this would be his final derby involvement as Celtic manager.
Reflecting on the fixture itself, he added:
“Just the intensity, the atmosphere itself, both at Celtic Park and at Ibrox. It really is phenomenal.
“The atmosphere at Ibrox where they scored two early on in the match, the place was really, really rocking, it compares to any atmosphere in Britain and probably in Europe.
“And I think that could be echoed on Sunday.”
Nafisa
