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.

"But you embrace the history, you don't fear it. Some of our players who have come from other countries may not have been aware of it when they arrived, but they have become immersed in it. We're in a European final now and we have a chance. If we didn't think we could win, there would be no point in being here.

"In the 33 years since Celtic were last at this stage, the game has changed and things have moved on. It could be another 33 years before this club is here again. It's time for us to try to adorn that history ourselves."

In pursuit of his own hallowed place in the archives, O'Neill is widely expected to adhere to the 3-5-2 formation that has, with the odd exception, seen Celtic through the most arduous assignments of the manager's tenure, with Chris Sutton joining Henrik Larsson in a striking partnership in front of the tried and tested middle five of Didier Agathe, Stilian Petrov, Paul Lambert, Neil Lennon and Alan Thompson.

But whispers of doubts over Sutton's physical readiness began to be heard yesterday, when the big Englishman initially did not go through the same routines as the rest of the squad. Sutton missed last Wednesday's Premier League match because of suspension, but he had been troubled by injury beforehand, and there arose a fear that he may not have fully recovered.

While O'Neill is certainly not averse to producing the unexpected he successfully sprang a 4-4-2 line-up on Rangers in the recent visit to Ibrox he is a firm believer in relying on the players and the formation which have consistently seen Celtic through difficult occasions in the past.

Indeed, of all the qualities he has brought to his work, the most impressive has been an ability to judge what is required, either tactically or in terms of reinforcing an already diamond-hard resolve, to see his team through the most testing single events on their schedule.

This has pertained through the two successive league championships already on his record and, especially this season, on the rampage through Europe that has brought them to tonight's pinnacle. Victories over Blackburn Rovers, Celta Vigo, VfB Stuttgart, Liverpool and Boavista were neither accidental nor lucky.

O'Neill himself hinted at the possibility of a departure from his own well-established orthodoxy when he talked of his players' versatility in the matter of adapting quickly and comfortably to different tactics.

"I think our players know they can fall quite readily into another formation if necessary," he said.

Porto, of course, represent a different style from that which the Scottish champions encountered in England and Germany en route to the Andalusian capital, but not one with which Celtic are totally unaccustomed.

It was, in fact, their achievement on that last visit to Spain, when they saw off Celta in the third round, which is considered by Bobby Lennox, himself a Lisbon Lion, to be the most telling of the entire campaign.

"I know they lost in Vigo," Lennox said last night, "but scoring down there and beating the Spaniards over the two legs showed that they can handle that style of football. I think that was a terrific achievement and the one that tells you they have a great chance against Porto."

Lennox is not alone in believing that, if Celtic can prevent the Portuguese from gaining an early impetus and inflicting damage, they have the ability and the guile to keep possession of the ball with the objective of inducing anxiety in opponents who are almost universally regarded as technically more accomplished.

O'Neill reasoned that the climatic conditions, with the temperature still well into the thirties at the 8.45pm kick-off local time, could dictate a less than frenzied start to the match. "I think the heat will cause us to adjust accordingly," he said. "We may not be able to go into attack and go for it immediately, it may be a cagey opening.

"But at some stage we are going to have to come out and try to win it. I think the players are pleased we came as early as Sunday, but in the modern age, with the progress made by dieticians and in medical science, the heat is probably not such a huge factor."

Those are encouraging words for a Celtic team who may, in the words of Lisbon captain Billy O'Neill, require "the bit of good fortune they have not so far needed in the tournament."

Given their form and their apparently endless resilience, it is recent, rather than ancient, history that is more pertinent to their prospects. Therefore, it would not be a ground-breaking shock were they to bring the trophy to Scotland for the first time.

* Scotsman Publications