Celtic boss Martin O'Neill longs for King's Road rather than Rangers abuse

While Sunday’s opposite number at Ibrox in Derek McInnes is presiding over his first as a coach, O’Neill is firmly in the veteran camp.

That doesn’t mean he necessarily enjoys the occasion.

O’Neill accepts there is a sense of addiction with this fixture but at the ripe old age of 74, there is also a longing to be back in London supping coffee - which is where he was 12 months ago - rather than facing the bile of an Old Firm clash at Ibrox.

But a year is a long time and O’Neill is right at the heart of the first derby of this season, a Premier Sports Cup quarter-final tie with a lot on the line for both Rangers and Celtic.

“Does this fixture become addictive?” pondered O’Neill ahead of Sunday’s high-noon summit in Govan. “Yes, it does in a way. Will I be glad to see the back of it? Well, yes, I will! I’m desperate for that coffee on the King’s Road again, I really am. I’d like to know what normal life is like again, because this is not normal.

“No, I shouldn’t say that. There’s part of me – there must be part of me – that loves it.”

It is clear O’Neill has a love-hate relationship with such a high-stakes affair. A serial worrier, he admits that this type of fixture wasn’t the reason why he felt compelled to come back for another season in the hotseat.

“No – it made me think the opposite!” he exclaimed. “Absolutely. Do I want to got to Ibrox again and hear all that abuse behind me? No, no, absolutely not.

“My daughter – who is much more clever than me – said for every person that loves you there’s a million that hate you. I keep that in mind. I’m well and truly outnumbered. There will be 15,000 behind me chanting something or other.

“I just have to keep that in mind. I’m not every sure there’s one person who loves me – apart from myself! No, I’m only joking…”

He has plenty of adoration from the Celtic masses. They will not be in attendance at Ibrox this time around with a ban on away supporters, which makes Sunday’s match more challenging - although it should stop some of the ugly scenes that marred their last visit on March 8, when fans invaded the pitch at the end.

“Did I expect to be sitting here talking about another Old Firm game?” smiled O’Neill. “Absolutely not. Even at the end of the season, I sometimes do think, what am I doing here?!”

‘McInnes steeped in Rangers - so it’s no problem’

O’Neill did not lose to Rangers last season. In between his two stints as boss, Celtic were turned over 3-1 by Rangers at Parkhead under Wilfried Nancy. He also didn’t lose to Derek McInnes’ Hearts whilst in post - the last of their encounters coming when Celtic pipped the Jambos to the title on the final day of last season.

McInnes’ lack of experience of this fixture as a manager isn’t a factor for O’Neill. “It might be Derek’s first one as a manager but he’s steeped in Rangers, so it’s no problem,” the Northern Irishman noted of the ex-Ibrox player and boyhood supporter.

Both men are experienced enough to know the importance of such occasions. A place at Hampden is on offer for the victors, as well as favouritism for the Premier Sports Cup. It was the one domestic trophy that got away from Celtic last term, after O’Neill guided them to the final by defeating ... yes, Rangers.

The duo meet on league duty at Celtic Park next weekend. What happens at Ibrox has the ability to shape the course of the season.

“I always used to feel that Old Firm matches, particularly the league games, could define a season,” said O’Neill. “I used to think that if you, lost all four derbies but still won the league, then that’s fine. I don’t think Celtic fans would be having that now. I don’t think Rangers fans would be having it either.

“I was soon disavowed of that particular thought. What I’m saying is that it would be highly unlikely to win the league if you had lost all four games against Rangers and vice versa.

“These games can have a knock-on effect psychologically when you play each other twice in the space of a week. I think you saw that last season when we fought back from 2-0 down to get a draw — and then beat them in the cup the following week.”

Celtic come into the game in good fettle. While the pain of missing out on Champions League football against LASK for the second successive season still lingers, domestically Celtic have been excellent.

Stretching back to last season, they are on a 16-game Scottish winning streak - all of which were under O’Neill’s watch. Key central defender Cameron Carter-Vickers is back fit after missing Wednesday’s 1-0 win over St Johnstone, and left-back Kieran Tierney should start. Striker Kasper Hogh returned from injury during the week. The biggest question O’Neill has to solve is who plays in goal as recent loan signing Sam Johnstone vies with Viljami Sinisalo for the gloves.

It’ll be enough to cause O’Neill a sleepless night - he admits that rest doesn’t come easy on the eve of an Old Firm match.

“How do I prepare? I’m not great,” he admitted. “I wasn’t great on Wednesday, mind you. I still worry. I have done all my life. I continue to worry about these matches, it doesn’t get any easier.”

Oh for that cafe down the King’s Road ...