When Bhoys become men

ON the eve of a UEFA Cup final in which the burden of Celtic’s history could be as oppressive as the heat of the night in Seville, Martin O’Neill yesterday took steps to lighten the load on the men charged with overcoming Porto at the Olympic Stadium.

The Irishman is unlikely to be familiar with Scots Wha Ha'e a rendition, in any case, would be wasted on the majority of his cosmopolitan force and his rallying call may not have matched the lyricism of Burns's immortal lines, but it could prove to be just as inspirational.

With a nod in the direction of Celtic's previous European summits, at Lisbon in 1967 and Milan three years later, O'Neill said: "What was achieved by those great players then is always present. That history is always there for us.