O’Neill relishes Celtic derby win despite Rangers ‘excuses’

Martin O’Neill says that he revelled in the opportunity to beat Rangers one more time as manager of Celtic after guiding his side to victory in Sunday’s League Cup semi-final, despite the ‘excuses’ of his club’s city rivals.

Rangers held talks with Scottish FA head of referees Willie Collum this week as they questioned some of the decisions made by match referee Nick Walsh and his VAR team at the national stadium, specifically the decision not to send off Auston Trusty for kicking goalkeeper Jack Butland on the head and the call not to issue a second yellow card to Anthony Ralston after the defender conceded a late penalty.

O’Neill gave his own take on those incidents as he arrived in Denmark ahead of Celtic’s Europa League tie against FC Midtjylland, admitting that Trusty was fortunate to escape a harsher punishment, but argued that Rangers shouldn’t even have been awarded a spot kick for Ralston’s handball.

“Whatever sort of excuses they make, two things,” O’Neill said.

“I don’t think it was a penalty, and I think Trusty was lucky to stay on the field, having seen those things back. So, that’s my points.

“But it’s still one of the great fixtures in European football, if not the world. We won.

“Watching it back, sometimes there’s things you miss. We had awesome, really great chances.

“Rangers did great with 10 men in the second half of the game. But, we did create some chances.

“I’m delighted to be here and if you said to me, I’ve got one more win over Rangers, well that’s the best news in the world.”

After the emphatic win over Falkirk and then the triumph over Rangers at Hampden, speculation has begun to mount that O’Neill may just be in old routine for a little while longer than he had originally planned, though the 73-year-old still isn’t sure if he could handle the intensity of taking on the Celtic job on a full-time basis once again.

“That’s a very good question,” he said.

“And the answer is, genuinely, I don’t know. If you’re talking about, for instance, the fixture list coming up, there’s no respite between now and right through to virtually late February.

“You might still be involved in Europe, you might not be…we might not get the points. So, you think, every week and midweek. That’s really challenging and it’s challenging for young men at the end of the day. So that I don’t know.

“The consideration will come from the board in that sense. If you don’t win the football matches, then it’s an easier decision for the board to make.

“And I think even if you did win some football matches the board would still be thinking younger man stepping into the job. That would be my view.

“I’m totally aware that the results dictate everything…everything. Just let’s turn the clock back and we’d lost to Rangers, then I think the hunt for the manager, which is on at this minute, becomes intensified. But if you get a result, it’s a bit of respite.

“I don’t know if they made their minds up, I haven’t been involved in any of that conversation.

“But listen, we’re in the results business and we have to get results.”

O’Neill says he is excited by the opportunity to lead Celtic into European competition once more after his previous successes on the continent during his first spell in charge, though he was quick to point out that the famous run to Seville back in 2003 didn’t have the happiest of endings.

“I mean, we were beaten in the UEFA Cup final, so it’s not great news,” he said.

“We lose to a very, very talented side in the final, who spent a lot of time on the ground. So that keeps me awake at night.

“But they went on to win the Champions League the following year, so a great team, and a brilliant, brilliant manager. One of the best managers that’s been in the game.

“That’s a long time ago. If you were asking me a week ago, would I ever actually be involved in another European game, I think you’d have a fair idea what the answer was.