UEFA CUP/Quarter-final, first leg: Kevin McCarra looks at some of the issues that may help decide manager Martin O'Neill's future at Celtic
These are the best days Celtic have known for almost 30 years. Children bored by their dad's yarns about the Jock Stein era now have stories of their own to hoard. Without a revolution in the whole order of football the club can never win the European Cup again but the side has strutted memorably in the UEFA Cup this season.
With the fourth-round tie against Stuttgart still in the balance, Celtic rapidly scored twice in the Gottlieb-Daimler stadium and for a while held a 5-1 aggregate lead over a team that is on course to fill a Champions League berth next season.
Since Martin O'Neill moved to Scotland in the summer of 2000 there have been four domestic honours to maintain a supply of silverware but it is memories of the European scene that fans polish. He has made those supporters feel Celtic count. Since the start of last season clubs such as Porto, Juventus, Valencia, Celta Vigo and Stuttgart have lost in Glasgow.
It is rational to believe O'Neill's side will run Liverpool close in the UEFA Cup tie that starts tonight. Amid the emotional storm of the 60,000 crowd the players may dream of swamping the visitors but in the drabber days to come everyone may also wonder whether this is really the high-water mark for Celtic. Must their fortunes soon ebb?
Perhaps it is crass to add a dash of woe to the delirium over the clash with Liverpool and it is certainly reckless to underestimate O'Neill but there are intractable issues that the club has somehow to address. Three months ago their debts stood at £24 million and the continuation of the UEFA Cup adventure will, at best, shave that figure.
The reasons are well known. With a negligible market for television rights to Scottish football, the Old Firm are on a meagre financial diet compared with English clubs. Whereas, for example, dawdling Tottenham Hotspur can enjoy a turnover of £65 million, the income of a dynamic Celtic touched £50 million only because of Champions League proceeds.
As recently as last summer there was a belief the Old Firm could tunnel their way into the Premiership from the English First Division. For the time being that plot has run its course and Celtic will have to visualise their future in Scotland. O'Neill cannot like all that he sees there.
He is still a tracksuit manager and his celebratory leaps at the touchline betray no sign of a bad knee but the Irishman is 51. These are the peak years of his managerial career and he needs to reflect on how he is to spend them. The repetitiveness of the Scottish scene chafes and the variety of the Premiership must be alluring.
It would be a formality for him to return there, particularly with this UEFA Cup run to freshen the CV, but it is not easy to see how he can take charge of the kind of club he merits. There is no "situation vacant" sign pinned to the door at Arsenal, Manchester United or Liverpool.
It is no simple matter for O'Neill to improve on the circumstances he enjoys in Glasgow, even if Celtic will have to rein in their spending. The wage bill is burden enough and O'Neill is unlikely again to have £12 million to splash out on two strikers, as he did with Chris Sutton and John Hartson. The consolation lies in the fact many clubs are economising and cheaper deals may be common in future. Scotland will have two Champions League places next season and few managers in Europe have the luxury of knowing, as O'Neill does, that access to the tournament is guaranteed.
There is still a task to retain the 52,000 Celtic season-ticket holders who are often bored with the Scottish Premier League. If O'Neill stays there will be challenges of one sort or another to test his talent.
Meanwhile, injury to Sutton could clear the way for Henrik Larsson to return to the Celtic line-up tonight. Sutton has a groin problem which may persuade O'Neill to recall Larsson to action after a month's absence due to a fractured jaw.
"Chris hasn't trained and it is an ongoing problem, so it is a concern," O'Neill admitted. "He is desperate to play, of course, but so is Henrik. The surgeon has given him the all-clear. Henrik has had a few training sessions but he hasn't played for more than 30 days, so I will need to look closely at him before the match."
It is likely that Sutton will start alongside Hartson and that Larsson will be brought off the substitutes' bench if either of his team-mates succumbs to injury or if Celtic feel in need of a late boost. Jackie McNamara could be drafted in to cover for the loss of the injured Didier Agathe.
Liverpool are hopeful Emile Heskey will have recovered from a hamstring injury to partner Michael Owen. Heskey went off injured in the League Cup final victory over Manchester United, but the damage is not as bad as initially feared. Liverpool are without defender Stephane Henchoz following a calf operation and Djimi Traore will deputise.
CELTIC (3-4-1-2; probable): Douglas; Mjallby, Balde, Valgaeren; Sylla, Lambert, Lennon, Thompson; Petrov; Hartson, Sutton.
LIVERPOOL (4-4-2; probable): Dudek; Carragher, Traore, Hyypia, Riise; Murphy, Gerrard, Hamann, Diouf; Owen, Heskey.
Referee: T Hauge (Norway).
Guardian Service
