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Daily Record
Daily Record
Sport
Steven Mair

Martin O'Neill admits Celtic Helicopter Sunday pain still 'gnaws away' as he mulls final day agony over toast

Former Celtic manager Martin O'Neill admits the pain of losing the title to Rangers on the final day of the season in 2005 still gnaws away at him.

And even 16 years on, the 69-year-old still has visions of Scott McDonald's late winner at Fir Park for Motherwell while he tucks into his morning toast.

The Irish gaffer may have three Scottish league triumphs to his name, along with the same number of Scottish Cups and a League Cup too.

But that fateful afternoon in Lanarkshire, along with the 2003 UEFA Cup heartbreak in Seville, still plagues his thoughts to this day.

His grumblings of Rangers and Hibs coming to a mutually-assured outcome over in Edinburgh show it still rankles and speaking the Press Box podcast, O'Neill said: "I know it was 2005, but I'm just trying to count the years.

"We're talking about 16 years and, no, it's still there.

"In fact, I was having toast this morning and I was thinking about it. I'm serious.

"It never leaves you. I think about that, I think about the UEFA Cup more than I think about our triumphs.

"That's been the case, it gnaws away at you, of course.

"Was it Gordon Marshall who was in goal for Motherwell that day? A very fine goalkeeper, but he's never produced a performance like that in his life.

"We could have won by about seven! You just felt it was going to happen.

"Rangers were at Hibs that day, they took the lead in the game and it became a stalemate after that because Hibs couldn't afford to lose 2-0 otherwise they wouldn't be involved in European football.

"I think it was like the East vs West Germany game, when the teams just played it out.

"But we should have been able to take care of our own business."

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