The genesis of what has become known as Celtic's generation of dominance is not a matter that tends to divide opinion among supporters of the club. At the turn of the century, the Parkhead club had won just one title in 12 years. A distant 21 points behind Rangers in 1999-00, a cycle of failure seemed destined to continue indefinitely.
The point where the landscape changed beyond recognition arrived on the afternoon of August 27, 2000. Three goals up inside 11 minutes against Dick Advocaat's Rangers, Martin O'Neill's men romped to a jaw-dropping 6-2 victory. Never has the old cliché about an Old Firm win only being worth three points looked so hollow.
The title which Celtic went on to claim by 15 points saw the balance of power in Scottish football shift towards Glasgow's East End. In the past 25 years, the title has been Celtic's on 19 occasions. It has had 12 Scottish Cups for company, plus 11 League Cups. Without the gateway game which immediately became known as Demolition Derby, many feel none of that would have followed.
'It was my first Old Firm game and we had won our matches leading up to it,' O'Neill recalled. 'Nothing prepared me for the atmosphere of that game. Did I think it was a turning point? No, absolutely not. In hindsight it was a seminal moment. It was so early in the season and we went to Ibrox in the November and got mauled. But even though we had been well beaten, we had gained confidence from the run we had. I think we actually dropped points the following week at Easter Road, but we turned the corner after that. When I look back on it, it probably was the lift-off moment.'
There is a certain irony, then, in the scenario which O'Neill faces in what he believes will be his last taste of the famous fixture back at the same venue. While the days of quadruple Trebles are no more, Celtic have had just enough about them in the past four seasons to keep their finger on the big prize. From the very first whistle of this season, though, you could have been forgiven for believing that they were doing their utmost to jeopardise that. Between a spectacular fall-out with Brendan Rodgers, abysmal recruitment and Wilfried Nancy's disastrous 33-day tenure, the club has been a basket case. Only O'Neill returning in January and applying some common sense to the situation has belatedly produced the results to keep them in the hunt.
But they are hanging on by their fingernails. And if Hearts pull off the unthinkable in the coming week, it will surely signal the end of the runaway success story which O'Neill began writing all those years ago. The manager can now only hope — just as he did on that day a quarter of a century ago — that the current crop of players also come out with all guns blazing.
'I think we have to. There is no other alternative,' he insisted. 'We have got to get on the front foot as quickly as possible and peg them back if we can. That is the only way forward for us. There is no point sitting back and seeing how the game develops, allowing sides like Rangers to come into the game. Last week, I thought they controlled the first half against Hearts and they will be trying to do the same thing again here. We have a couple of games left and who knows what will happen on Saturday evening with Hearts at Motherwell. It is still, mostly, within our grasp so we have to go out and win.'
This caveat is necessary. With Hearts visiting Celtic Park next Saturday, O'Neill's men evidently have the capacity to claw back the three points. The trouble is an inferior goal difference of five which, as things stand, would require them to win their final match by three clear goals. While it is possible that that situation could improve across the games with Rangers and Motherwell, Hearts would be quietly confident of bolstering their position against Falkirk if they can first tick off a treacherous trip to Fir Park. Acutely aware that Celtic lost at home to Danny Rohl's men in January under Nancy, O'Neill is understandably reluctant to get carried away.
'We need to win our matches, it is really as simple as that, and see where it goes,' he said. 'I am not saying we are capable of running up a cricket score in the remaining three matches, because we are not. The opposition is also very strong, but we have to win the games.' He is encouraged by what he has seen since his side's last stumble. 'There has been no safety net in recent weeks,' he said. 'I did not feel Tannadice was a mortal blow, but it was a severe setback. But they have come roaring back and done really well. Let us see how Sunday turns out.'
He feels the two recent visits to Ibrox may have a positive psychological impact. Celtic were two down at half-time in the league game there in early March and salvaged a draw. A week later, in the Scottish Cup tie, they survived 120 minutes plus penalties and came through. 'We came out of the league game unscathed in a sense, although we got a battering in the first half,' O'Neill recalled. 'We had a number of players missing in the cup tie and we won it. Naturally, it should give you a boost.'
While he naturally needs his players to show their mettle across the coming week, he does not subscribe to the view that this is now purely a psychological battle. 'Eventually, when everything is over in seven days or so, the team that wins it will say they handled the pressure better,' he said. 'But there might just be a moment in a game, when you might have slipped up or made something happen that was out of context of the game. Sometimes that can be overstated in my experience. It is a bit like people talking about Arsenal a couple of weeks ago and saying, have they bottled it? No, they have been up there the whole time, and they could end up this season winning them both. It will all be decided in the next seven days.'
The urgency of the situation will not force his hand in terms of team selection. Regardless of the side's need for goals, and the fact that he is the most likely candidate to find them, Kelechi Iheanacho will not be asked to put in minutes he is not yet capable of. 'He is a player I have to manage,' O'Neill stressed. 'Kelechi is itching to start games. He has had a major impact coming on, but sometimes it might not happen like that. He did start against Dundee United at Tannadice. I thought it was the thing to do, but he did not see the game out. He might come in the game and not make an impact, but that might not be his fault. It is a balancing act and you have to think about it. There is a thought about starting him but knowing that he probably would not see it through. But you never know, he might start on Sunday.'
