Martin O’Neill admits John Hartson once left him ‘a bit frightened’ at Celtic

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Martin O’Neill has shared a time at Celtic where an altercation with John Hartson left him feeling ‘a bit frightened’.

The former Celtic manager famously signed Hartson for £6m after he failed a medical at Rangers and the big Welshman was a huge hit at Parkhead.

Part of O’Neill’s treble-winning team and playing a huge role in Celtic getting to the 2003 UEFA Cup final, Hartson is a legend at the club and is held in high regard by the fans.

He is also well-respected by O’Neill but that didn’t stop them both from having an ‘altercation’ during their time at the club.

O’Neill on ‘lazy’ Hartson

Martin O’Neill was famous for the respect he commanded in the Celtic dressing room and how he could lose his temper at times.

However, the legendary manager shares what he said to Hartson before subbing him off in a game at Celtic that left the former Hoops striker fuming.

O’Neill said [The Football Authorities], “And I remember once I took John Hartson off in a game once.

“John was a really brilliant goalscorer for me. There’s no question about it.

“This was up at Celtic, but John was quite lazy as a player. I once said to John, ‘John get warmed up,
you’re coming off.’ And he didn’t take too kindly to that comment.

“And I did take him off in a match in which he had scored, believe it or not, and scored the winning goal.

“But it was so early on in the game that John had disappeared by that time. So I took him off and he confronted me then. And that was a battle that I was certainly not going to win, I must admit if there had been a sort of a physical fight about it.

“But thankfully, John calmed down and apologised for his behaviour. We get on famously now but at that particular moment, I must admit, I was a bit frightened.”

Having met Hartson once, I can confirm that I wouldn’t like to confront the man-mountain now when he is angry, never mind in his prime.

The former Hoops striker had a huge physical presence which helped to make him such a successful forward in his time at the club.

Scoring 110 goals in 201 appearances at Celtic, Hartson won three league titles, two Scottish Cups and a League Cup and will always be remembered fondly by the fans and, thankfully, O’Neill as well.