Martin O’Neill is hoping to exorcise the demons of Helicopter Sunday at Fir Park tonight.
One of the darkest hours of his largely successful first spell at Celtic came at this very stadium two decades ago.
Now, avoiding defeat can guarantee the chance to win the league at Celtic Park against Hearts on Saturday, in an unlikely turnaround from his interim spell.
Speaking before the game, O’Neill was fully focused.
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Martin O’Neill: I feel ‘exactly the same’ as 20 years ago for Motherwell vs Celtic
Asked by Celtic TV about managing his emotions for the game, the interim boss said: “Well, I think that’s a very good question. That takes a longer answer than here.
“I think my own viewpoint is that I get excited about the games, I get nervous about the matches, which is a great thing for me, to tell you the truth…
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On the support, he said: “But I feel the exact same here today as I did 20-odd years ago, so that tells you everything.
“No doubt at all about it. They have been fantastic, they have carried us over the line, there, in recent weeks. It’s worth telling them that, there, it’s exactly what they have done. We’ll need them tonight.
“Of course. It’s a big big game for us, we’ve put ourselves into a position, now, where we’re in the chase.
“You’d like it to get through to the final day of the season at Celtic Park if that’s possible, and for us, we have to go out and play strongly.
“After our win against Rangers, I think you’ll always derive confidence from a victory against your rivals like that.
“That’s good, that’s good, and that’ll stand you in decent stead for a little while in the game — but things might go awry, anything can happen in the match.
“We have to be as strong as possible, be resolute, and also go and play.”
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