Familiar title nerves flooding back for O'Neill

Martin O'Neill is experiencing familiar feelings of nerves and excitement as he bids to crown his third spell in charge with a league and cup double.

The 74-year-old Northern Irishman was a huge success as Parkhead boss from 2000-2005, winning seven trophies – including three Premiership titles – and reaching the 2003 Uefa Cup final.

Now in his second interim stint this season, O'Neill's side - who will face Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup final later this month - are a point behind leaders Hearts with two games to go thanks to last weekend's derby success over Rangers.

Before the penultimate fixture on Wednesday night against Motherwell at Fir Park, O'Neill was asked to compare his feelings to his first spell in charge.

The former Nottingham Forest, Norwich and Northern Ireland player said: "Pretty much the same, to tell you the truth.

"I can't remember, but the anxiety wouldn't be that much different.

"And it's good that I feel this way, because I've always felt that.

"I felt this as a player, although the thing I always felt as a player is, you could do something about it.

"I've always felt the same as a manager and then you're depending on players for your living after that.

"And so the same sort of nervousness, the same sort of excitement, all those type of things still exist with me even at my age."

Celtic's title bid hung in the balance after a 2-0 defeat at Dundee United in March left them five points adrift of Hearts.

But the reigning champions have won six games in a row in all competitions since and are putting pressure on Derek McInnes' side, who face Falkirk on Wednesday before heading to Celtic Park on Saturday.

O'Neill said: "We've got some players who are in really good form, which is the most important thing.

"I think there's a good connection with the team and the fans. I think that's been an important issue.

"They've known for some weeks, particularly after the game at Dundee United, that there was no room for mistakes.

"And that's hard to keep going every single game because there'll be a match where you might actually dominate, you might not score in that period and another team might break away and find themselves 1-0 up.

"For instance, on Sunday, we started off strongly and the game was helter-skelter and Rangers score and it sets us back.

"But we come rolling back into the game, scoring a couple of goals after half-time, one of them being a fantastic goal which gives us that big boost of confidence that's so important at this stage."