If you are fortunate enough to have managed in 1,014 matches, you will have seen a lot. Scores of games forgotten almost as soon as they end. Cup finals, derbies, European nights. Since first sitting in a dugout in the late 1980s, Martin O'Neill has pretty much experienced them all. Even for a man who took Celtic to Seville and faced last-day shoot-outs, a straight title decider feels as significant as anything before.
Title Decider Looms Large
'In terms of the games?' O'Neill said. 'Oh yeah, I think so. It's a title decider. Absolutely.' The Celtic manager has urged his players to seize the initiative against Hearts. Wednesday's events at Fir Park simplified the equation: a Celtic win by any margin will see them pip Hearts at the post. As preferable as that scenario is to chasing three goals—which would have been required if Kelechi Iheanacho hadn't converted from 12 yards—the situation remains fraught with danger.
Hearts, having beaten Celtic home and away this season, will enter a cauldron having scored in 11 of their past 12 games and taken 13 points from a possible 15 against top-six opposition. That is title-winning form. With six successive league wins for the first time this season, O'Neill's side are in a much better place than two months ago. Yet defensive frailty persists: one clean sheet in nine matches, 11 goals conceded in that run. Even if Celtic go ahead, Hearts know defending a lead is not their strong suit.
O'Neill's Message: Attack
Unable to contemplate protecting a slender advantage, O'Neill's message is clear. 'We have to win it, Hearts don't,' he added. 'So the advantage is with them in that aspect, but we're going out all guns blazing to try to win. Wouldn't it be ridiculous, almost pathetic, if we didn't have a real go at trying to win a final game? We'll have to take risks. We could find ourselves trying to get forward, hit on the break, and Hearts scoring. But that's the nature of it. We've come from behind on Sunday and Wednesday, and we may have to do it again.'
There is a personal aspect for O'Neill. In his first spell in Glasgow, he won three titles by landslide margins and lost two to Rangers on the final day. He never quite came to terms with the circumstances of the latter, which flipped in the closing two minutes at Fir Park in 2005. Now he either bookends his three tenures with a victory that heals that psychological wound, or he adds another last-gasp near-miss. 'That's like a different time,' he insisted. 'That was in the era I was in charge, with great moments and disappointments. But I see this as something separate, almost as if I'm looking in from outside.'
Hearts' Historic Quest
The prospect of Hearts becoming the first non-Old Firm side to win the title in 41 years has captured attention beyond these shores. Aside from Celtic and Hibernian supporters, there is an understandable desire to see an underdog prevail. O'Neill understands this. 'Absolutely,' he said. 'I said months ago that Hearts winning the league wouldn't be good for Celtic or Rangers, but that Hearts being up there was a really good story. People down south are taking notice of Scottish football, which they haven't for ages.'
How does he feel about being the man many neutrals want to see fail? 'I don't consider myself the villain. Quite the opposite,' he smiled. 'I consider myself hard done by... and this is definitely my paranoia coming back, which I thought had disappeared in 2005 when I left Celtic. Unbelievably, it has come racing back, but I'll get over it.'
VAR Controversy
O'Neill contends that recent support for Hearts from neutrals was central to the narrative after Fir Park. Sam Nicholson's handball, belatedly penalised after VAR intervention, almost sparked an international incident, with Gary Lineker among those condemning the call. The Celtic manager believes the reaction is largely due to timing. 'To me, in terms of the rules, it's not really a debate,' he said. 'It was relatively clear cut. You can debate the whys and wherefores, and FIFA and UEFA should look at it, but as we stand, these are the rules.'
Given the incident closed the gap to a single point, O'Neill understands Hearts' frustration. Yet he feels there must be a wider view. 'If you want to go back to Easter Road, the Hibs player handled the ball and they got a goal from it. That was clear-cut and we didn't get it. VAR decided it was fine. When we lost to Hibs, Liam Scales should have had a penalty, and we didn't get that either. People talk about the Alistair Johnston tackle against Rangers; I thought he was lucky. But then people think we should have had a penalty against Motherwell for Daizen Maeda being charged in the back. If you look back over the season, the top three sides have had decisions go for and against them. I'm not saying things level themselves out. But the reason for the big furore is because it's the end of the season. If this happened in October, you wouldn't have heard a word.'
Given the high stakes, O'Neill has no real issue with Hearts boss Derek McInnes describing the award as 'disgusting'. 'In the heat of the moment he's come out and had a go,' said the Celtic boss. 'But when he looks at it, if it had been awarded for him, he would have been happy enough to take it.'
What's gone is gone. A game for the ages awaits. The fervent hope is that it will be remembered for all the right reasons.
