Celtic's Martin O'Neill has expressed his desire for a low-key victory over Rangers in Sunday's Scottish League Cup semi-final, saying he would "settle for a really lousy 1-0 win". The 73-year-old interim manager, who is drawing on past experiences from his first spell at Celtic Park, acknowledges that replicating the side's dominant performance from 25 years ago will be a challenge.
In his previous stint as Celtic boss, O'Neill won just one of four Hampden Park meetings with Rangers and there was only one League Cup success in five years. The veteran manager has recalled the infamous "Demolition Derby" win in his first spell, which catapulted Celtic to a domestic treble.
As O'Neill prepares for Sunday's game at Hampden Park, he will be facing off against Danny Rohl, half his age, who is making just his fourth game as Rangers head coach. The veteran manager has expressed admiration for Rohl and believes the Sheffield Wednesday boss has won praise from former players.
Despite the daunting task ahead, O'Neill has vowed to maintain a level head and focus on finding confidence in Celtic's performance. His comments reflect the complexities of managing a club with an unprecedented amount of success, as the pressure to perform mounts with each passing day.
The game marks a significant test for Celtic under O'Neill, who is aware that replicating past glories will be difficult but not impossible. He will be looking to build on recent victories and use Sunday's match as an opportunity to settle down his squad after a tumultuous summer transfer window.
In his previous stint as Celtic boss, O'Neill won just one of four Hampden Park meetings with Rangers and there was only one League Cup success in five years. The veteran manager has recalled the infamous "Demolition Derby" win in his first spell, which catapulted Celtic to a domestic treble.
As O'Neill prepares for Sunday's game at Hampden Park, he will be facing off against Danny Rohl, half his age, who is making just his fourth game as Rangers head coach. The veteran manager has expressed admiration for Rohl and believes the Sheffield Wednesday boss has won praise from former players.
Despite the daunting task ahead, O'Neill has vowed to maintain a level head and focus on finding confidence in Celtic's performance. His comments reflect the complexities of managing a club with an unprecedented amount of success, as the pressure to perform mounts with each passing day.
The game marks a significant test for Celtic under O'Neill, who is aware that replicating past glories will be difficult but not impossible. He will be looking to build on recent victories and use Sunday's match as an opportunity to settle down his squad after a tumultuous summer transfer window.
, which is fair considering Celtic's history with Rangers isn't exactly sunshine and rainbows. I mean, one of four Hampden Park meetings with Rangers and only one League Cup success in five years? That's not a bad record, but it's not like they're invincible or anything.
. He seems like a decent coach so far, but managing a team with that kind of history and expectation is a whole different beast altogether. I'd love to see some stats on Celtic's squad depth and player morale before Sunday's match – are they actually feeling confident or is it all just hype? 
... managing Celtic is like trying to solve a super hard math problem while being hit with a ton of stress 
... but at the same time, it's so cool that he's got experience from his first stint and is bringing that into this game 
... I hope he can draw inspiration from those past games and use it to get a win against Rangers 
... O'Neill seems like a really down-to-earth guy who just wants to do what's best for the team, which is super admirable 
... fingers crossed Celtic gets that 1-0 win and settles some of this pressure 
. Still, if Celtic can get a good start and settle down their squad after that crazy summer transfer window, they've got this 
but seriously tho, its going to be so tough for him to replicate the side from 25 yrs ago. thats some serious pressure right there! i hope he can manage to get the squad back on track after that crazy summer transfer window... btw, danny rohl is half martin o neill's age lol what a contrast in experience
. Can't the managers just give it their all and hope for the best? I mean, what's the point of even playing if you're not gonna go out there and leave everything on the pitch? O'Neill is right that it won't be easy, but can't he at least try to get some confidence going from the off? 
The fact that he's settling for a 1-0 win just shows how much pressure Celtic are under. And what's with all these managers who can't even manage a team without being compared to their predecessors... it's like they're living in the past instead of forging their own paths 
.