Martin O'Neill has insisted he stands by his defence of Celtic's title-winning pitch invasion in May, saying he would have accepted the same from Hearts fans had the roles been reversed. The Celtic boss was criticised for his comments on talkSPORT after thousands of fans flooded the pitch following Callum Osmand's 98th-minute winner in the final-day title decider.
O'Neill: 'It Was One of the Great Days'
Speaking ahead of Hearts' first return to Celtic Park since that match, O'Neill rejected claims the celebrations tarnished his side's five-in-a-row triumph. He said: "I think it was one of the great days. Listen, whatever happens this year, you can't take that away. It was fantastic and to me it was up there with any moment in my managerial time."
The Northern Irishman also addressed the criticism of referee Don Robertson, who ended the game as fans streamed onto the pitch. It later emerged the final whistle had been blown with Hearts boss Derek McInnes' blessing. O'Neill added: "Derek's comments when the sound thing was picked up, he said he told the referee to blow it up. So I was asked by Jim White 'Did it tarnish things?'. Well, not for me. It didn't, honestly. I thought it was fantastic."
No Regrets Over Defence
O'Neill was panned for defending the pitch invaders on national radio, but the 74-year-old has no regrets. He said: "I don't care. I couldn't care less. I think I say too much at the end of the day. But absolutely not. If Hearts had won and their away fans had come onto the pitch - I'm telling you now, and it's easy for me to say this - I would have accepted that there because it's the first time they would have won the league for years and years and years and the euphoria of doing that there would have been there."
He added: "But if you take the bigger picture at the end of the day, if they had won - and they were very, very close to doing it - and their crowd had come on to celebrate with their players that is something I would have accepted. It's easy me saying that, but that's how I feel."
Hearts Return and European Woes
O'Neill revealed he has not discussed the fallout with McInnes, saying: "No. The only time I have seen him since was in our matches [vs Rangers]." Hearts return to Celtic Park tomorrow knowing victory would cut the gap on the Premiership leaders to two points.
New Hearts boss Wouter Vrancken will also look to pile more misery on Celtic after their 4-1 defeat to Benfica in Lisbon. Despite losing their opening two European games, O'Neill remains confident his side can reach the knockout stages. He said: "It was always going to be a difficult game. We could have crumbled and we didn't. I take encouragement from that. I really do, genuinely, from the way the side played in the second half. It was more like us."
Struggling striker Kasper Hogh could be dropped after extending his goal drought to 13 games for club and country. The £11million man hasn't scored since his hat-trick at Rugby Park in August and was denied by the woodwork in Lisbon. O'Neill said: "That would have been nice if he'd scored that goal. Because at the end of it all centre forwards or strikers live or die by goals. They really do. And if you're not scored for a while and you miss the opportunity... That was a good chance to score on Thursday night. But overall, over the course of the season, I think he'll be absolutely fine. At this minute, he just needs a goal because it does give you a big boost of confidence."
