No more Mr Nice Guy from Celtic boss

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has no qualms about playing the villain - if it means winning the Scottish Cup.

O’Neill has already experienced the pain of being dropped on the big occasion as a player when Brian Clough left him out of Nottingham Forest’s European Cup final team.

Clough claimed the young O’Neill was not fit enough to play against Malmo, despite the Irishman declaring himself ready for the clash in Munich.

Chris Sutton, Paul Lambert, Stephen Crainey and Bobo Balde are all battling against injury in a bid to take their places against Rangers at Hampden Park this weekend.

But O’Neill insists he won’t hesitate to leave players on the sidelines if he suspects they cannot give him 100%.

‘‘One or two people are going to be disappointed,’’ he admitted.

‘‘Those players who are attempting to recover in time will have to prove to me they’re fit and if they can’t, I will get on with selecting someone else.

‘‘It’s my responsibility to go with the strongest side and I can assure you that’s what I’ll be doing.

‘‘But it’s too early to say for sure who’ll be fit at this stage. I can tell you they’re all desperate to play and their desire epitomises the spirit we have in the dressing room at the moment.

‘‘There’s no doubt we could do with one or two of our senior players back given that we’re playing a very good side but no-one will be brought into the team if they’re not ready.’’

Alex McLeish’s arrival at Ibrox as Rangers manager has produced impressive results in his Old Firm outings so far - a win and two draws.

But O’Neill dismisses the notion that the balance of power has shifted from the east end of Glasgow to Ibrox.

He told the Celtic View: ‘‘If you could offer me losing all our games to Rangers and still winning the league, I’d take it - I honestly would.

‘‘I’m not saying it wouldn’t bother me, and I’m realistic enough to realise the Old Firm games go a long way towards deciding the destination of the title, but it’s still a situation I would accept.

‘‘You can only judge something over a decent period of time and I don’t actually think we’ve done too badly against Rangers over our last few games.’’

One player who will be hoping he can take advantage of injuries is Colin Healy.

The young midfielder has just returned from a successful loan spell at Coventry, during which time he also impressed for the Republic of Ireland team.

He insists the time spent at Highfield Road has helped him develop into a player capable of challenging for first team football at Parkhead.

He said: ‘‘I have improved because I have been playing regularly and my match fitness and sharpness has obviously improved as well.

‘‘Playing first-team football is important and I relished it. I enjoyed being at Coventry and going out playing and needing to win games.

‘‘I have a year left on my contract but I will need to sit down and chat to the manager and see what happens.

‘‘All I need to do is keep working hard in training, do my best in games and take it from there.’’