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O'Neill fears Lennon's exit over abuse

Scottish Premier League: Glasgow whispers say pivotal Old Firm encounter could be last for victimised midfielder

Phil Gordon
Sunday 24 April 2005 00:00 BST
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It is a well-established fact that you win nothing with nine men. Unless you count the Boat Race. Martin O'Neill will remind his players of that fact at lunchtime today, in a spot not far from the River Clyde, to ensure that Celtic's Scottish Premier League title ambitions are not becalmed.

It is a well-established fact that you win nothing with nine men. Unless you count the Boat Race. Martin O'Neill will remind his players of that fact at lunchtime today, in a spot not far from the River Clyde, to ensure that Celtic's Scottish Premier League title ambitions are not becalmed.

The last thing you need when you go to Ibrox is to lose a man. To lose two, as Celtic did on their last visit, was more than careless. It was costly. The dismissals of Alan Thompson and Chris Sutton in November saw Rangers toy with O'Neill's remaining nine men in a manner that almost stripped the cham-pions of their dignity.

By the end, the taunting of the home crowd had become so intense that O'Neill broke with the protocol of Old Firm encounters that decrees that managers head up the tunnel to avoid provoking fans. The Celtic manager seemed more concerned by the venom dished out to Neil Lennon than the 2-0 defeat; he ran on to the pitch to put an arm around his midfielder and raised his hand like a beaten prizefighter.

It was a moment of public defiance from O'Neill. His compatriot, who quit as Northern Ireland's captain after Loyalist death threats, has been attacked by Rangers fans during his five years in Glasgow and had his house targeted by vandals. O'Neill declared the abuse of Lennon at Ibrox had "racial" overtones.

Celtic closed ranks that day and set about increasing their stroke in a perennial duel that is almost as old as the Boat Race. Today they have the chance to put clear, green water between themselves and their rivals. Victory would hand Celtic a five-point lead with just four games left to play and edge O'Neill closer to his fourth championship in five seasons since moving to Parkhead. This time, however, he wants all his crew on board.

"I think we have a better chance of winning the game if we keep 11 men on the field for the whole game," O'Neill reflected on Friday. "You may be unlucky in some aspects, but discipline is of paramount importance. It's not something we preach, but we recognise that any player who is sent off lessens our chances by a great deal.

"We are not clever enough to carry 10 men around for a lengthy time in a game, or certainly nine. It is of paramount importance."

The rumours have been coursing through Glasgow that this could be Lennon's last game at Ibrox. The gossip suggests that he is fed up being public enemy No 1 for Rangers fans who have gone over the boundary between football rivalry and criminal intent. Sam Allardyce would like to take Lennon to Bolton Wanderers, and O'Neill could see why his man might walk away.

"Neil Lennon may think he has got other things to do than spend the next few years in Glasgow," he said. "Not every moment here has been beautiful. Lennon has put up with an awful lot in five years and is held in great esteem by myself, in the dressing room and by the support. A lot of less courageous people would have chucked it in by now, though. I don't know if the last Old Firm game had an effect on Lennon. I have not discussed it with him."

It is the kind of environment in which participants rarely have time to catch their breath. O'Neill watched two Glaswegians, David Moyes and Sir Alex Ferguson, allowing their passions to spill out at Goodison Park last Wednesday knowing that if he and Alex McLeish attempted to do the same, it could provoke a riot.

"I think it would be an impossibility to go into an Old Firm game and not be excited or apprehensive about it. If there was ever a possibility that Celtic and Rangers would meet when not going for a championship, I think there would be the same excitement surrounding the game. Walter Smith said that after an Old Firm game which you had won, the first feeling was relief that you had not been beaten, and then maybe later on in the evening you could enjoy the win, if that's the case.

"After five years here, I now understand what he's saying, because of the excitement around it all. This one, though, will certainly be an important game. Once play gets under way, you are actually less apprehensive. How much time you spend after it thinking about it depends on the result. It can be interesting how much you want to gloss over once you have won the game, and how much you analyse a defeat."

Not only have Celtic regained the leadership of the SPL from their rivals since that day, but they now have Craig Bellamy offering a potent, and swift, option to the muscle of John Hartson and Sutton. The on-loan Newcastle United striker conjured up a sublime winner last week against Aberdeen as Celtic came from behind to win 3-2, and O'Neill admits his team are not really made for stubbornly acquiring a draw.

"I think if you go in with a negative attitude, chances are that is the way it will turn out for you," said O'Neill. "I don't think there is a manager in this world who would contemplate playing for a draw. If you play the game just outside your own penalty box, you'll get done.

"Winning would not guarantee us the title. There would still be a lot of work to be done. I remember losing the championship in 2003 to Rangers by one goal on the final day of the season. I think I could have accepted what happened if we had won the Uefa Cup final three days earlier against Porto. It was a pretty painful summer, and I don't want to go through that again."

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