Martin O’Neill and Neil Lennon have spent decades side by side in football, first at Leicester City and later at Celtic, but Saturday’s Scottish Cup Final puts them in direct opposition at Hampden.
There is affection there. There is also clear respect from O’Neill for the work Lennon has done at Dunfermline this season. Celtic will start overwhelming favourites, yet O’Neill’s comments suggest he expects an awkward afternoon against a side that has already knocked Premiership clubs out of the competition.
Lennon has built Dunfermline into a difficult cup team because they stay in games. They defend their box aggressively, compete for second balls and break forward quickly once matches become stretched. Celtic have more quality across the pitch, but O’Neill knows Lennon understands exactly how to frustrate this type of fixture.
That familiarity works both ways. Lennon knows what O’Neill demands from players in major games because he lived through it for years. He played in sides that attacked relentlessly at Celtic Park but could also scrap through ugly away matches when needed. O’Neill sees traces of that mentality in Lennon’s work now at Dunfermline.
O’Neill spoke warmly about Lennon while previewing Saturday’s final.
He said: (Premier Sports), “It would be genuinely really fantastic, really really fantastic. I’m up against what I would have considered an ally at one time but now my nemesis for a while who had a big big influence on my career.
“He might say the other way around but certainly times were difficult at Leicester early on and he pulled me out of the quagmire but I have since pulled him out of a number of quagmires that he found himself in.
“But Lennon has been terrific, what a job he’s done at Dunfermline and but really yeah in a serious note we’ve just got to get ready. We’ve got to get ready for the game because he’ll put up a plan to try and stop us and try and win the game and what he’s done, knocked out three premier sides. It’s a testament to his ability.
“He’s been really terrific and have you considered that? If you look at his record both as a player and as a manager at Celtic, it’s incredible, it’s really incredible.
“So he deserves all the accolades that he is bound to get and he’s come roaring back again and he’s done super at Dunfermline and really unlucky against against Partick Thistle in many aspects otherwise they could be contesting that game against St Mirren to go up into the Premier League.”
O’Neill has repeatedly spoken about Celtic “coming from nowhere” to win the title this season and there is a similar theme in Lennon’s year at Dunfermline. Few expected them anywhere near a cup final after their difficult start to the campaign.
For Celtic, the challenge is avoiding the emotional drop after the Hearts title drama. Hampden finals can become flat if the favourites expect the game to unfold naturally. Lennon will try to slow the match down early, make Celtic defend direct balls and drag the game into uncomfortable areas physically.
That is why O’Neill’s praise for him sounded genuine rather than polite pre-match noise. He knows exactly what kind of opponent is standing in the opposite dugout.
