It must be hard for most Celtic players that worked under Martin O Neill for a decent amount of time to be able to pinpoint one moment and separate it from the rest. O Neill promised Celtic fans success on the steps of Paradise when he was appointed as Celtic manager and he didn’t let anyone down.
In his first season, his team won a treble, they battered Rangers in a famous 6-2 win and sent out a message of intent. The Irish manager quickly signed Sutton, Lennon & John Hartson while spending over £15m on them. This was another show of intent. The Bhoys had Hartson, Sutton and Larrson as their strikers and they carved their names into the history books.
John Hartson was probably overshadowed a bit by the pairing of Larsson and Sutton but anytime he was called upon the big man delivered. With 88 goals over five seasons, he contributed hugely to Celtic’s success at the time. The Welshman is still a big Hoops fan and an advocate for the Scottish game. He recently spoke with the official club website and named his most prized memory in a Celtic shirt.
“I had some great moments at Celtic, in a Celtic shirt and in a Celtic dressing-room, some wonderful victories and brilliant results, especially in that UEFA Cup run where we got to the final.”
“But that goal against Liverpool – I think that was my special moment at Celtic. I had many great times, but you get one and that one for me was Liverpool away. It put the game to bed and gave us that 2-0 lead and Liverpool were never going to score two goals in the last few minutes of the game, not with the way we were defending that night.”
That goal will live long in the memory for any fan lucky enough to have watched that goal hit the back of the Anfield net. Celtic always have a point to prove against the English and Hartson and Sutton had a point to prove to the league they left behind.
