Martin O’Neill admitted he did not feel confident his team would hold on to their advantage against St Mirren once they conceded.
Celtic had been 2-0 ahead at the break in their Scottish Cup semi final at Hampden Park, with goals from Daizen Maeda and Anthony Ralston putting them in a strong position.
That lead looked comfortable for a while, but the momentum shifted when Mikael Mandron pulled one back with a header. O’Neill admitted that moment planted doubt in his mind.
Those concerns were justified when Mandron fired home an equaliser deep into stoppage time, forcing an additional 30 minutes to decide who would reach the final next month.
“That was, if there’s such a thing as enjoying it, I enjoyed the last three minutes most of the time. So, yeah, it was tough,” he told Premier Sports. “St Mirren proved really difficult. Even at 2-0, I felt we weren’t going to see it through if they got a goal.
“They scored early in the second half, and even towards the end you felt they could get another, which they did. But we found something in extra time. James Forrest dropping his shoulder and the goal that followed turned it again for us.
“I think we’ve all been there where you’re saying something at the end of the game and it’s as much encouragement for yourself as anything else.”
Celtic eventually overwhelmed their opponents, scoring four times in a remarkable six minute spell at the start of extra time.
It came as a blow to St Mirren, who had looked the more dangerous side heading into that final stretch.
The interim manager was relieved to see his players take control, striking early and then asserting themselves fully once they had regained the upper hand.
“Obviously scoring early on into extra-time made a massive difference, confidence restored again,” he said, “We scored quickly after that again and we see it through.
“I could’ve played when we were 6-2 in front, my grandchild could have played. But it’s about getting there.”