Old Bhoy Moravcik says O’Neill perfect for Ireland

Lubo Moravcik didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Having endured a nightmare season under the John Barnes and Kenny Dalglish ‘dream team’, he was underwhelmed when Martin O’Neill entered Celtic Park as manager just 21 days before the Slovakian’s 35thbirthday.

The Irishman came with a reputation, but not one that warmed the heart of a midfielder who was more piano player than the piano lifters O’Neill had littered his teams with.

And when the Derryman announced to him in their first meeting that he hadn’t even heard of the talented player, a member of Czechoslovakia’s 1990 World Cup team and one of Zinedine Zidane’s idols, he feared the worst.