Martin makes you feel like a million dollars

YOU can never write off a Martin O’Neill side. He always backs his teams to the hilt, and as a result his players run through brick walls for him. I first met Martin at a hotel in Beaconsfield to discuss a move from Chelsea to Celtic in the summer of 2000. I had endured a difficult year in London, scoring just once in the Premier League all season, but straight away Martin told me that did not bother him. He said that he had followed my career, knew my form would return and that if I worked hard for him, he would back me. It is such belief in his players which inspires them to give that little bit extra to the cause. When I played for him, Martin was not someone I felt you could get close to. He was difficult to read and you never knew what he was thinking. But when he gave you praise, it made you feel a million dollars. Martin was the master of the dressing room. He never lost an argument and while he ruled with a strong hand, he was always fair. Henrik Larsson would often bail us out but Martin would not be afraid to rip into him if he felt things were not going right. Equally, he knew when to put an arm around someone who needed a confidence boost. Where Martin has the X-factor is in his ability to galvanise and lift a group of players. He’s done it pretty much everywhere he has managed. He took over a Celtic side who had finished 21 points behind Rangers. In his first Old Firm derby, we thumped Rangers 6-2. In next to no time he transformed us into a dominant force domestically while on the European stage we were going toe-to-toe with the

likes of Juventus, Liverpool and Barcelona. Now, with the Republic of Ireland, he has got a group of players from middling Premier League and Championship clubs well and truly punching above their weight. This is one of the weakest Ireland teams I can remember and yet Martin has taken them to the brink of qualification for the World Cup. Wales may have been without Gareth Bale on Monday night but what about the players Martin was missing? Without Jon Walters and Shane Long, Ireland had to rely on 34-year-old Nottingham Forest striker Daryl Murphy to lead their line. In Cardiff, Ireland were extremely well organised, dogged and hard to beat. Martin has had to put up with a lot of stick about how Ireland do not play attractive football but he does not listen to all the outside noise. He does what is necessary to get results. Martin surrounds himself with people he can trust implicitly. At Celtic, Steve Walford was the coach and John Robertson was his sounding board. I can imagine plenty of managers would not want Roy Keane in their backroom team given how outspoken he can be but Martin is not worried about reputation. He simply wants the best people around him. People have unfairly criticised Martin for not ‘coaching’ his teams. When I played for him, I was never left in any doubt as to my role or what was required from me. Roy Hodgson, who I played for at Blackburn, is one of the game’s best coaches but those skills alone do not guarantee success as a manager. Hodgson did not have the aura that Martin O’Neill possesses. In the five years I spent at Celtic, Martin was loved by everyone from the players to the staff, the cooks to the groundsman. Yet behind all the charisma, there was a steeliness and hunger to get the job done.