Celtic boss Martin O'Neill's warped view takes over but veteran makes vow amid regrets and rancour

The 74-year-old coach has won the Scottish Cup three times in his career, yet losing a final to Rangers and what happened on the last day of the 2004/05 season at Fir Park on helicopter Sunday a week before Hampden success against Dundee United come to the forefront of his mind.

“Right, well, generally good, but we lost one, didn't we?” said O’Neill when asked about his record in the Scottish Cup. “That was hard to take, that one [2002 against Rangers]. Any defeat in the final, but particularly that one was really hard to take.

“I've got this kind of a warped view of life where I look at the... It's just my upbringing, where I look on the dark side. I just mentioned Motherwell, the bittersweet thing of us winning the cup final week after Motherwell. The very fact that I mentioned Motherwell, I thought, oh, don't go over here.”

O’Neill can reach another Scottish Cup final, 21 years on from the last one. Celtic meet St Mirren on Sunday at Hampden Park for the right to face Dunfermline Athletic or Falkirk in the May 23 showpiece. The chance is there to finish what has been a challenging season on a high.

This could be a campaign of regrets for Celtic, who have let their grip on Scottish football loosen. They are third in the Premiership, three points behind leaders Hearts. And the Premier Sports Cup has already come and gone. St Mirren wrestled that off them last December.

“I've had more than a few regrets in my life,” opined O’Neill - although he refuses to bracket not being in the dugout for that final against St Mirren as one of them. The Northern Irishman guided Celtic past Rangers in the semis before stepping aside for Wilfried Nancy, the ill-fated Frenchman who lasted just 33 days. Many believe Celtic would have been triumphant that day had O’Neill still been at the tiller.

“I think it would have been nice to have been [in charge for that game],” admitted O’Neill. “It would have been nice. But I understood this. That's not a regret as much as the other things that happened under my control.

“That wasn't in my control in that sense. I understood what the club were doing, and they were going for it. I think they wanted Wilfried in for a game or two before, so for the cup final, absolutely fine.

“Honestly, I really am fine with that. Regardless of what you say, you won't hear me going out there and speaking to you, I'll really regret that. I don't. I regret these other things more.”

Why Celtic boss stayed away from last final

O’Neill accepts it was difficult to watch the final, which St Mirren won 3-1, unfold on TV. “I didn't want to go to the game, because I think that's just like... I know we're sitting all over the place, and that's not right. I think if they had won during the course of the week or the previous week, I think that would have been easier, and then I'd have gone.

“But I think that just heaps pressure on the manager, and I wouldn't have liked it if it were me in a similar situation. So, yeah, from that viewpoint. But, of course, if we had won, I would have taken all the credit in the world for getting to the final! So, there we go.”

O’Neill can finish the job this time around. Despite their difficulties this season, they are warm favourites to win the Scottish Cup. They defeated Craig McLeish’s St Mirren 1-0 last weekend - but it wasn’t done in swashbuckling fashion. This week, former Celtic striker Frank McAvennie joined the queue to have a pop at the team, labelling them “boring”.

O’Neill doesn’t care much for critics these days. “Somebody used to give me the papers and I was really angry,” he said of his younger days. “Really angry. Now, I couldn't give a monkey's, honestly. Honestly, I really don't.”

He does know that standards can improve. “Celtic can be better,” O’Neill stated. “Celtic Football Club will be better. Hopefully, they'll be a better side next season. Able to compete from the start and things like that. I think that any criticism that's delivered to us, I think, mostly is probably fair at the end of the day.

“You know, sometimes I think that we could... If you're asking me about an honest assessment of us, I think we could play quicker. I think we could. I think we could take, let's say, four passes instead of six to get to the same spot. That would be my interpretation of my team. I think we could get there quicker.

“We have a group of boys here at this minute who are winners, who have done it. I think the issue I have is that, generally by this time last year, the league was won. So you're not really going through that sort of tension that's not there.

“If that tension was there in October, then you've seen it through and you've gone on to win. So chasing this season has obviously been... Since I've come into both spells, it's just a matter of chasing the teams. So that in itself creates a different dynamic. It's a different thing. So players then will have to just get used to it.

“And even players who have won matches might find this a bit strange. But I think, hopefully, we should be able to deal with it, certainly try and play better.”

That’s the hope for O’Neill. Results, not regrets.