O'Neill plans weekend friendly

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill is hoping to arrange a weekend friendly to help his injured stars shape up for the UEFA Cup final.

The Bank of Scotland Premier League champions have a blank weekend ahead of them after their penultimate league fixture, at home to Dundee, was brought forward to tomorrow night.

Dundee had agreed to the switch to give Celtic a whole week to prepare for the showdown in Seville with Porto.

But now O’Neill finds himself in need of another competitive workout to test the fitness of a number of key players.

Striker John Hartson, midfielder Alan Thompson and goalkeeper Robert Douglas are all struggling for tomorrow but are sure to declare themselves ready by next week.

Chris Sutton, Joos Valgaeren and Johan Mjallby have just returned to first team action and Magnus Hedman and Steve Guppy are also on the comeback trail.

O’Neill was in a similar situation himself while at Nottingham Forest and ended up being left out of the side by Brian Clough for the 1979 European Cup final.

He said: “We might try to organise some sort of game this weekend, as competitive as possible.

“That is in my thoughts at the moment but it will depend on what happens tomorrow night.

“It’s not ideal but we have to accept that.”

Rangers captain Barry Ferguson has been playing for months through the aid of pain-killers and O’Neill conceded that whatever team he fielded next week would be unlikely to be in mint condition.

He said: “There are one or two of our lads who have been playing through the pain-barrier in the last couple of seasons and one or two that are doing so at the minute.

“In a 38-game season – and it was 42 games in my day – if you were properly fit for 16 of those games you could consider yourself as having a really good season injury-wise.”

In previous seasons the final visit of Dundee has been a low-key event and the Dees’ win at Parkhead two seasons ago had been achieved at a time when the championship had already been wrapped up.

Not so this time however, as Celtic know that nothing short of victory will keep the pressure on Rangers, who lead on goal difference and are not in action until Sunday when they travel to Hearts.

And O’Neill insisted that Jim Duffy’s much-improved Dundee side was just the sort of team that could provide an upset.

He said: “They have played very well since the mid-season break and they are in the Scottish Cup final.

“They have taken points off us and Rangers in recent weeks and will come here with no fear.

“In fact, I don’t think they could be any more dangerous. When you have got little to play for except match-fitness and are looking forward to a cup final you are dangerous opponents.”

Duffy has added steel to the flair that the mercurial Ivano Bonetti had brought to Tayside and O’Neill acknowledged that the Dees could be significant players in the Scottish game in the future.

He said: “I think Jim deserves great credit for galvanising them. They had probably been as skilful as any side but just lacked consistency. It has been a terrific turnaround.”

But O’Neill also conceded that Rangers were also facing a difficult penultimate league fixture.

He said: “Rangers go to Tynecastle on Sunday and that will not be easy. But we cannot rely on anything else than winning our game.

“The week won’t count for anything unless we win.”

This is the tightest championship race for many a season and is guaranteed to go to the final weekend whatever happens tomorrow night or Sunday.

But O’Neill revealed the scenario gave him a “perverse pleasure”.

He said: “I think the pressure is always there. It is something you always live with and have to get on with.

“It has been an exciting season and has been good for us and good for the league.

“It’s tight and good for the game but whether your nerves can stand it is another thing.

“But I wouldn’t be in the job if I didn’t get some sort perverse pleasure out of it.”