Martin O'Neill derides Rangers offer, reveals Celtic injury concern and the player who 'ruled himself out'
Celtic boss hails ‘unexpected’ reaction of fans after midweek Champions League capitulation
Martin O’Neill has reacted dismissively to Rangers’ decision to offer Celtic just 300 tickets for next month’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final clash at Ibrox, claiming their rivals might as well not have bothered allocating any at all to the visiting fans.
Celtic have yet to respond officially but O’Neill came out fighting following his side’s tight 2-1 win over Falkirk. The victory, thanks to a double from Camilo Duran, relieved some of the pain after Tuesday’s traumatic elimination from Champions League qualifying at the hands of LASK. An own goal from Colby Donovan with under 20 minutes left kept things very interesting. However, Celtic survived this latest test of their mettle.
Another one awaits at Ibrox in on Sunday 13 September, when O’Neill’s side face Rangers for a place in the last four of the Premier Sports Cup. The teams met again at Parkhead a week later, in the league this time. Ticket details have not yet been announced for that clash but O’Neill has an idea.
“We’ll just give them one (ticket),” he said. His initial personal response to what he clearly felt was the insulting offer of 300 tickets was to refuse them.
“We might as well not get any, if that’s the case,” he said. “My view, taking off the Celtic manager's hat and just looking at it from a viewpoint, is that it's one of the great fixtures.
"Even if the teams are not of the standard of, let's say, Paris Saint-Germain or Real Madrid, it is still a fantastic fixture. And you honestly don't realise how big it is in European games and in the world.
"People talk about it as a great game. And the best atmosphere is when the away fans have their allocation.
"That's been my point the whole way," he added. "I thought from a distance, watching games when it was away, that it lost something. I remember I came to one of the games here with Celtic and Rangers, and Rangers scored a goal and it was in complete silence.
"So that's not what you're looking for. It's still a crowd participation game. And that's a shame. If these are the things that are happening because of it, if we're both having to play behind closed doors for the next game if we're at home, well, I don't know. I'm not contesting that. But overall, it's, from a distance, a shame because it's a phenomenal fixture.”
He recalled a league game last season when Celtic had a reduced allocation at Ibrox and scored a late goal to equalise having been 2-0 down. “Obviously memory plays tricks on you at the end of the day…(but) the league game, where we were 2-0 down. I have not known noise like it at Ibrox for a long time, even in my day.
"It was phenomenal. And just to be participating in that game gives you goosebumps. So that's a shame. But very obviously, if they're going to give us 300 tickets, I would rather say no. And we'll give them one…”
O’Neill was speaking after a win over Falkirk that seemed to help a healing process following Tuesday’s capitulation in Linz. Having at one point held a 4-0 aggregate lead, Celtic lost five goals to blow their Champions League aspirations.
Luke McCowan, who was blamed for the all-important fifth goal after losing possession, came on as a second-half substitution against Falkirk and received a warm welcome. O’Neill also noted the reception the team received when stepping off the bus before the game.
“As we got off the bus, the crowd actually cheered us, which was unexpected and something that we probably didn't deserve,” he said. “So, yeah, I was really pleased.”
Less welcome was the sight of Kieran Tierney having to leave the pitch clutching his upper thigh with 20 minutes left. “I thought he had cramp, but it wasn't,” noted O’Neill. “It looks similar to Kasper (Hogh),” he said. The Danish striker was a late call-off with a thigh problem.
Reo Hatate, whose name was conspicuous by its absence from the matchday squad, had “ruled himself out of contention” according to O'Neill after suffering a strain in training amid ongoing speculation about his future.
As for Falkirk, manager John McGlynn praised his side’s response after they gifted the hosts a goal inside three minutes following keeper Scott Bain’s mistake and conceded another before the half-hour mark.
“It was the sort of start you absolutely don't want on the back of Celtic's game in midweek,” he said. “It was a harmless ball that should never end up in the back of your net.
“We've all been here,” he added. “You’re 2-0 down at half-time and it ends up 4-5 or 6. Huge credit to our players. We take loads and loads of encouragement from the second half. Our players rose to the challenge. They didn't buckle, they didn't go under, they very much stayed in the game.”
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