O’Neill may bring Petrov in from the cold

MARTIN O’NEILL last night revealed he had forgiven Stilian Petrov and was ready to bring the inspirational midfielder back for the UEFA Cup showdown with Blackburn.

The Bulgarian international skipper angered his club boss at the weekend by stating he would not sign a new deal and would be forced to leave for better money - and was promptly axed from the 16 at Dundee United on Sunday.

But on the day that Garry Flitcroft was ruled out of the Blackburn side, the Celtic manager had some good news for the supporters with the possible return of Petrov.

O’Neill said: ‘‘I spoke to his agent on the telephone because he wasn’t flying in and he is concerned for Stilian as he is entitled to be.

‘‘But it will have absolutely no bearing whatsoever on tomorrow and if Stilian is in the side then he is there on merit.

‘‘It wasn’t what he said - it was the fact that he didn’t get permission to say it. If the players speak to the press they can say what they want.’’

O’Neill was stunned by the reaction to their first-leg win which saw Blackburn undeservedly beaten 1-0 at Parkhead.

Blackburn manager Graeme Souness earlier claimed his team were still in a strong position and was confident his side would go through even if Celtic scored. But the Celtic boss insists that the Scottish champions will play much better than they did a fortnight ago and he is confident that if they can play to their potential then they will score and qualify for the third round of the UEFA Cup.

O’Neill added: ‘‘We won the first game and if we score then it will take three to beat us so we are in a decent position ourselves. But we have to get the ball into attack from start which we failed to do in the first half in the last game.”

Meanwhile, Souness is convinced Blackburn can join Europe’s big guns in the third round draw. The Rovers manager was in upbeat mood despite the loss of two key players.

Captain Garry Flitcroft and defender Martin Taylor have been ruled out with ankle and hamstring injuries, respectively. Blackburn controlled the first game for long spells but were impotent in front of goal.

Souness said: ‘‘Our strengths are going forward and going after teams and we will try and do that tomorrow. I have got good players, I have honest players. We will try and play the same way as we did in Glasgow. But I expect a very different game.