O’Neill speaks from experience as he prepares to let some players down

MARTIN O’NEILL knows just how upset some of his stars will be next week when he tells them they will not be starting against FC Porto in the UEFA Cup final.

But the Celtic manager had a comforting message for them yesterday that he lifted the European Cup just one year after the same happened to him.

O'Neill still remembers being called a liar by Nottingham Forest manager Brian Clough before the 1979 final and left out of the side after declaring himself fit.