MARTIN O’NEILL, CELTIC AND THE POWER OF POSITIVITY
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
What a difference a day makes.
On Tuesday morning, I was absolutely dreading the upcoming game against Falkirk. There had been a great deal of negativity around Celtic for a while already, between a seemingly despondent group of players, an angry and frustrated fan base, a dispassionate and detached board, and a manager who just couldn’t take it all any longer.
Then, like that long-lost childhood pal you haven’t seen since university, Martin O’Neill shows up, cracking jokes, engaging in banter, and accepting with good humor the fact that he’d just taken on a Herculean task without really knowing the full story.
The difference was telling, and his impact was immediate.
Martin O’Neill: Celtic Legend and a Jolt of Joy When we Needed it the Most
I’m not going to lie, a whole lot of positivity I’m feeling right now is similar to the kind of feelings I had when I went to watch the new Superman film in the cinema last summer.
It’s entirely based on nostalgia and warm, fuzzy memories rather than anything grounded in current reality.
Seeing Superman fly again on the big screen took me back to watching Christopher Reeve do it when I was an infant. And likewise, seeing Martin O’Neill, Celtic manager, jump for joy, albeit not as high as he did on the day of that famous 6-2 win over Rangers (Requiescat in Pace), took me all the way back to 2000.
I had just started my first full-time job, as a 16-year-old copy boy at The Herald Newspaper. My first wage packet went on buying my first season ticket, much to the displeasure of most of the sports desk at that time!
I guess you could say it was phenomenally good timing. A treble in my first season of going to Celtic Park regularly. The guy sitting next to me joked that he'd pay for my next ticket himself so long as I never missed a game!
It might be something of an almost expected occurrence these days, but back then, it was the only the third time we’d done it in our history. Not since 1969, with Jock Stein at the helm, had Celtic scaled such heights.
There’s no denying Celtic still face a lot of problems. We have a minority shareholder with delusions of adequacy running roughshod over the corporate rulebook. We are currently without a full-time manager and we have no plan beyond the next few weeks in terms of players, tactics or strategy.
But honestly, for the next few days, I don’t care. Martin O’Neill and the feelgood factor that his infectious personality brings with him is back. How long that feelgood factor remains in place will depend on a few things. Firstly, we need to put the new Rangers back in their place on Sunday.
Secondly, despite clawing back two points already, we remain 6 points off the top of the league. Hearts also have the mental edge, for the time being anyway. They beat us, and beat us well last week. We all know that defeat isn’t the reason Brendan Rodgers is gone. But nonetheless, Hearts can claim the bragging rights of finishing his Celtic managerial career.
However, let’s finish on a lighter note. I was thinking about that whole “Honda Civic” comment the other day. Incidentally, my better half drives a Honda so she wasn’t too happy to hear that coming from the Celtic boss.
Remember when Top Gear used to do their “Star in a Reasonably Priced Car” skit?
Well, I think even if our team is still a Honda Civic, with the positivity and immediate uptick in performance levels Martin O’Neill has brought in, he may as well be driving a Ferrari!
Because let’s face it, “The Stig” could get around the Top Gear track in a Honda Civic far faster than any pampered celeb could, even if you gave them a top of the range Ferrari!
Bring on the Rangers!
