GLASGOW, 29 May 2005 — Martin O’Neill signed off his five-year reign as Celtic manager by lifting the Scottish Cup yesterday but said he was embarrassed to have climbed the Hampden Park steps ahead of his players to receive the trophy.
Celtic, the holders and 1-10 favorites, won the Cup for the 33rd time as an early Alan Thompson goal proved enough to beat Dundee United 1-0 in a one-sided final.
The players sent O’Neill up to lift the trophy, the Northern Irishman’s last act for the club before he leaves to take care of his wife Geraldine, who has cancer.
He then left the pitch draped in scarves thrown from the stands by fans who gave him a thunderous ovation.
“I thought that was a bit embarrassing to be perfectly honest. The players do the playing and if you win it you should go there first of all,” he told a news conference.
“I know there has been a number of changes to tradition in recent years, a lot of which I don’t agree with, but I was pushed forward by the players.
“I was a bit concerned about how the officials giving us the medals would react. They didn’t recognize me, they thought I was just someone who stepped in for me and I think they were really relieved to see some normal football shirts coming up behind us.”
O’Neill said yesterday’s success went some way to making up for last weekend’s traumatic events when Celtic’s 1-0 lead turned into a 2-1 defeat at Motherwell that handed the Scottish Premier League title to Rangers.
“If Sunday had been the final day then I would have hanged myself,” said O’Neill, who has won seven trophies and a host of admirers in his five years in charge. “At least we had the perfect way of putting it right.
“We were very down after Motherwell and we had to dig deep and there were players running on empty so I’m delighted.”
“I think we deserved it. Just like last week we couldn’t kill the game off and we had chance after chance after chance.
“We could have been out of sight and they hit the bar at the end. It was a fantastic shot but it would have been rough justice,”
Alan Archibald’s shot four minutes into injury time was just about Dundee United’s only meaningful goal attempt as they again failed to trouble a team who have now beaten them 22 times in a row.
A few minutes earlier Chris Sutton had missed a chance to settle the match when he blazed a penalty over the bar after slipping as he struck the ball.
O’Neill, who was applauded by the media at the end of his final press conference, said he did not expect to return to Parkhead.
Gordon Strachan will take over on a one-year rolling contract and, asked if he was likely to return, O’Neill said: “I don’t think so. The torch has passed to Gordon.
“He is a different personality to myself. He knows the game inside out. He needs a bit of luck and he needs a bit of time. But he can stamp his authority on the club.”
Many of the Celtic players spoke of how difficult it had been to lift themselves after last Sunday’s blow.
Goalscorer Thompson summed up their feeling when he said: “It was hard to get up for this game, we have been so down, so low that we cannot explain about how we feel after last week.
“Football is a cruel game sometimes but when the good times happen you have to savor the moment.”
