O’Neill to forgive Petrov with berth against Rovers

CELTIC manager Martin O’Neill looks set to forgive Stilian Petrov and bring him back for a night of soccer he will never forget at Ewood Park.

The midfielder angered O’Neill by insisting he will be forced to turn down Celtic’s contract offer and leave for better money.

Petrov was left out of the Celtic 16 for yesterday’s 2-0 win at Dundee United, and Paul Lambert was on the bench as Chris Sutton moved into midfield to accommodate John Hartson in attack.

But O’Neill has hinted the Bulgarian could come back into favour as he ponders changes to his side for the second chapter of an epic “Battle of Britain” tie with Blackburn Rovers.

‘‘I changed the team around for the game against Dundee United and I’m sure I might change things again for Thursday, without a doubt.’’

The Celtic boss believes Petrov’s omission has already had a positive impact, because Hartson was sparked into life by his starting role.

The Welshman scored his 11th goal in six starts, and Sutton netted after replacing the substituted Hartson in attack.

Dundee United midfielder Charlie Miller felt his side deserved at least a draw.

But the former Rangers star accepted that Celtic’s firepower and wealth proved decisive.

‘‘We are disappointed we lost the game,’’ Miller said.

‘‘But Celtic have spent a lot of money, and you have to take the half-chances that come by,” he said.

‘‘We were quite pleased with the performance, but the result was still a let-down.

‘‘We had a couple of half-chances in the first half, and I thought over the balance of the game, we deserved to get something.

‘‘You have to work hard against them because they are a big strong team, and if you don’t close them down, they will run off you all day.”

Miller believes his side’s confidence will not be dented seriously.

‘‘The manager said we should take positive things out of the game and not be too disappointed because we did well.

‘‘We’ve played worse against them and been battered, so we can take a wee bit of heart out of the game.”

Meanwhile, Blackburn centre-back Martin Taylor is having intensive treatment on a hamstring strain in a bid to get fit for the game.

Taylor, 23, limped out of the action against Southampton on Saturday and is desperate to play in the second leg, with Blackburn trailing 1-0.

Rovers are already without Henning Berg in defence but Irish winger Damien Duff, who missed the Southampton trip, yesterday confirmed his fitness for the game.

Apart from the long-term injured Stig Bjornebye, Rovers have no further injury worries.