Martin O’Neill has described the atmosphere at Old Firm games as “something else” as he told of his excitement at away fans returning to the stands later this year.
The former Northern Ireland captain (72) reflected on his many years in the game with Stick To Football podcast hosts Gary Neville, Roy Keane, Ian Wright and Jill Scott.
Asked to choose between Newcastle and Sunderland or Celtic and Rangers derbies for matches that create the “best atmosphere”, the Kilrea man said the Old Firm “is something else”.
“It’s because I’m from Northern Ireland, brought up as an Irish nationalist/Catholic, so you know all about it,” said the former Sunderland and Celtic manager.
“But Ibrox is a great stadium as well, so the fixture, I think it misses out at the minute because the away fans aren’t allowed in.
“There’s a fellow, a friend of mine, who wants to come – never been to an Old Firm game – I said ‘listen, wait until the away fans get back in, then you will really see something’.”
The traditional arrangement of allowing 7,500 Celtic supporters to attend matches at Ibrox was halted by Rangers in 2018 when they cut the allocation to approximately 750 tickets. Celtic responded with similar restrictions.
This led to a period where both clubs stopped accepting away allocations entirely, citing safety concerns. However, last March, discussions between the SPFL and both teams resulted in an agreement to restore away fan attendance at these fixtures, but they have not yet returned. This is expected to take effect from the next derby in March.
Rangers beat Celtic 3-0 today at Ibrox, but the Bhoys are still 11 points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
O’Neill also admitted he found it difficult to take criticism from former gaffer Brian Clough at Nottingham Forest before crediting a Northern Ireland legend with inspiring his decision to return to the pitch two years after hanging up his boots at Fulham.
Martin O’Neill during his time managing the Republic of Ireland, with Roy Keane who was his assistant. (Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Thinking back on his tenure in charge of the Republic of Ireland from 2013 to 2018, O’Neill said it would not have happened without the “really, really good” late Northern Ireland manager Billy Bingham.
”He was the first one to make me think about management because I wasn’t that bothered,” O’Neill, who began his managerial career at Grantham Town in 1987, admitted. His most successful stints came at Leicester, Celtic and Aston Villa.
He acknowledged Clough as the “biggest influence” on his management style and seemed to have more of an understanding for his old boss who joked about criticism making him “cry in the toilet”.
O’Neill said that despite his resolve to treat all players the same when he was in charge, it wasn’t possible because “people are different”.
Recalling sending handwritten letters with “stupid jokes” as a result of Bingham’s encouragement, O’Neill said his appointment at Wycombe Wanderers in 1990 came about by a “chance” encounter with sports commentator Alan Parry during a Norwich vs Liverpool game.
“I’d applied for it a couple of years ago and didn’t get it even though I got down to the last one – only an Irishman can get down to the last one and fail it,” he said before explaining that Parry pledged to “make a phone call to the chairman” on the day interviews were being conducted.
“Funnily enough, I got a call back later on saying they had appointed Kenny Swain who was assistant manager at Crewe.
“Would you believe he turned it down and they asked me.”
O’Neill also compared former Hoops and Northern Ireland skipper Neil Lennon to Old Trafford hero Roy Keane, who was sitting beside him.
“Lennon was to us what you were to Manchester United,” he insisted.
“Honestly, the real driving force of the side. I seldom made him captain of the team, but he really was that.”
O’Neill became emotional when Keane described his five years helping lead the Republic of Ireland as “probably the highlight of my career” and described it as an “extraordinary” statement from the man who enjoyed a Champions League win, seven Premier League titles and four FA Cups.