O’Neill in Celtic quit shock

Celtic 3 Rangers 3

The Irishman had been expected to enter into talks with the club board during the next two weeks, but sources indicated that he has decided to leave Celtic Park at the end of the current season.

The news will heighten speculation that O'Neill is being lined up to replace Alex Ferguson at Manchester United and sent shock waves through supporters last night when the news broke from the former Parkhead star Davie Provan.

It came shortly after the Old Firm had drawn 3-3 in a drama-filled clash at Parkhead and, although there was no immediate confirmation of the story from either O’Neill or the Celtic chairman, Brian Quinn, one well placed Celtic official admitted: “It’s not really that much of a surprise because he is in a big goldfish bowl here in Glasgow and you have a situation where coming second is regarded as a disaster by the supporters.”

Earlier in the day Quinn had rubbished a radio report which stated that O’Neill would be quitting his current job next May. “We're certainly not looking for Martin to be here for just one more year. We want to be able to agree with him that he remains at Celtic for something like 3-4 years,” said Quinn. “We've already had preliminary discussions with Martin, and we want to sit down and talk about how best he can build on the fine work he has already done.”

Recently, O’Neill had been frustrated by the failure of his side to qualify for the second stages of the Champions League and was clearly annoyed at the lack of investment in new players during the summer.

“It's not a good situation where people outside Scotland simply don't care about any other clubs except the Old Firm because it effectively means that Martin's future depends on the outcome of four or five matches a season,” said the ex-Celtic defender, Paul Elliott. "It's obviously very disappointing for the fans and I think they will be devastated by the news, but from a personal perspective I can't say that I'm really surprised that he has chosen not to commit himself to signing a lengthy new contract.”

During a breathtaking 90 minutes on the field Rangers produced an admirable show of courage after a humiliating and tiring UEFA Cup exit to twice take the lead and come from behind against the champions.

Mikel Arteta, Ronald De Boer and an Ulrik Laursen own goal gave the home side plenty to think about, but a brilliant Henrik Larsson double and a Sutton strike gave both teams a share of the points.

The visitors drew first blood after just five minutes through Arteta in his first Old Firm derby. Valgaeren cleared Fernando Ricksen’s cross to the Spaniard and the midfielder hit a first time shot which squirmed under the body of Robert Douglas and into the corner. Rangers were hanging on to their advantage as Celtic piled on the pressure and Larsson almost got on the end of Thompson’s cross in the 36th minute after a quick turn of pace on the left flank. But the Swede produced a sensational strike to level the scores just six minutes before the break.

With his back to goal and Craig Moore behind him he controlled an in-field pass from Momo Sylla before spinning around to drill an unstoppable right-foot shot past Klos and into the top corner.

In the 52nd minute, Celtic did go ahead and it was no surprise at the identity of the goalscorer. Larsson arrived unchallenged to head Petrov’s corner home from close range for his 15th goal of the season.

But that lead lasted less than a minute with the home side still caught up in the celebration. Substitute Neil McCann curled an inviting ball into the box and de Boer leaped to head emphatically past Douglas from six yards.

Douglas made amends for his earlier blunder in the 72nd minute when he got down well to save Arveladze’s right-foot shot.

But the Scotland goalkeeper was again found wanting in the 75th minute as Rangers stunned the home crowd by taking the lead. He failed to hold an Arthur Numan shot and, with Arveladze threatening, the ball spun over the line off the foot of Ulrik Laursen.

That lasted just two minutes as Sutton poked the ball home from close range after Rangers had failed to clear a Thompson free-kick.

McLeish was particularly pleased with side’s response to their UEFA Cup humiliation in midweek - and admitted their main objective to still be top of the table had been accomplished.

He added: ‘‘We said that we have to try and be top of the league at the end of the night so that was the first task.

‘‘The second one was obviously to win, and we scored three goals and have not won the game which is a bit of a disappointment.”

CELTIC: Douglas, Sylla (Agathe 59), Valgaeren, Laursen, Balde, Thompson, Lambert (Maloney 77), Lennon, Petrov (Hartson 74), Sutton, Larsson.

RANGERS: Klos, Ricksen, Moore (Konterman 45), Amoruso, Numan, Ferguson, de Boer (Caniggia 84), Ross, Arteta, Arveladze, Lovenkrands (McCann 50).

Referee: S Dougal (Scotland).