Martin O’Neill Confirms Celtic Penalty Plan for Ibrox

Martin O’Neill has confirmed Celtic will practise penalties ahead of Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Rangers at Ibrox.

The tie has to produce a winner, meaning extra-time and penalties could come into play if the sides cannot be separated after 90 minutes.

The Hoops’ last knockout visit there came in March, when O’Neill’s side progressed in the Scottish Cup after a goalless 120 minutes before winning the shootout 4-2.

Asked whether his players will be practising from the spot before Sunday, O’Neill confirmed it is part of Celtic’s usual preparation for cup ties.

He said: (Celtic FC YouTube), “We absolutely do, we’ve always done this in cup competitions. It cannot replicate the stadium, the crowd, all of that type of stuff, either home or away.

“It’s not like that at all, but at least if you’ve had a couple of penalty shots, even if you’re a centre-half or something, and you’re asked to do it, and if you’ve not practiced it, it’ll be a double-whammy for you, because you’ve not done it in front of a big stadium and you’ve not even practiced it.

“So you might as well have a few shots, and that’s what we do at the end of the training sessions.”

There is only so much Celtic can recreate at Lennoxtown.

Sunday will be played in front of a completely one-sided Ibrox crowd with no Celtic supporters in attendance, and the pressure of a shootout in that environment would be difficult to reproduce on the training pitch.

O’Neill still wants his players prepared for the possibility.

Benjamin Nygren has already confirmed he would be willing to step forward if the tie reaches penalties, while the Celtic boss knows his options could change depending on substitutions and fatigue over the course of the game.

O’Neill will be hoping the job is done before penalties are required this time, but his squad will be ready if Sunday follows the same path.