FORMER Motherwell midfielder Colin O’Neill built his reputation and his legendary status down Fir Park way as a hard, committed player with an oft-overlooked ability on the ball. But he would take no offence at the notion that his priority when pulling on the claret and amber was to win the physical battle first, with no quarter given. And it is the least he expects from the men who have followed in his footsteps to play for the team he loves.
The past few years have not been easy for the man affectionately known as "Psycho". He’s had his health problems, including a hip replacement 20 years ahead of schedule, but there isn’t much that can keep the irrepressible Northern Irishman down. Not much, except the fading fortunes of Motherwell over the last few seasons.
Unsurprisingly, catching up with him the day after his beloved side had blown Aberdeen away in the Betfred Cup quarter-final, he was in characteristically chipper mood. And it isn’t just the fact that new manager, countryman Stephen Robinson, has brought that winning feeling back to the club. It Is the way he is doing it.
There is a steel about Motherwell again, and O’Neill sees a willingness to work within the squad that he recognises from his own time under Tommy McLean a quarter of a century ago.
“It looks as though Stephen Robinson has put some long overdue fighting spirit back into the team,” said O’Neill. “I wasn’t a big fan of Mark McGhee. Robinson has got that wee bit of pride back into them that they were lacking in the last couple of years. They are together, and they have a great spine.
“A few of the Motherwell lads have been saying to me that we’ve found the new Colin O’Neill in the lad Allan Campbell, and I hope we have. He loves a tackle and he’s a great prospect.
“Back when I was playing, there was absolutely no messing under Tommy McLean. If you didn’t put in 100 per cent in training, he would have fined you. You had to do the business.
“It’s great to see the boys wanting to train and wanting to play. I hate the attitude of boys who don’t want to work. I never played a friendly in my life, everything was about hard work and giving your all, and it seems to be the way of things at Fir Park under the new manager."
Today’s quick-fire return trip to Fir Park for Aberdeen is now playing second fiddle, at least among Motherwell supporters, to the debate surrounding their team’s chances in the forthcoming League Cup semi-final against Rangers at Hampden in late October.
O’Neill knows a thing or two about upsetting the Old Firm, having banged in a 40-yarder as Motherwell beat Celtic en-route to lifting the Scottish Cup in 1991.
He is desperate to see claret and amber ribbons adorn a major trophy once again, and is happy to offer the current Motherwell squad the one bit of advice that carried his own side to that famous triumph; they must have an unshakeable belief that their name is on the trophy.
“It’s sad that we are the only team that have won something in all that time,” said O’Neill. “It’s a long, long time to go with nothing in the trophy cabinet.
“The year we won the cup, Stevie Kirk will tell you, we were sitting in the bath after beating Aberdeen in the third round at Pittodrie, where nobody had given us a chance. We just knew after that win we were going to lift the cup. Wee Dougie Arnott said it to me too. I thought; ‘You’re right, we are going to win this.’
“When we played Celtic in the semi-final and Iain Ferguson hit the post late on, we were written off again. You usually only get one crack at Celtic, but we knew within ourselves that we were as good as them. When we beat them, that was us. There was no doubt we were winning the cup, even though it was some final against Dundee United.
“You don’t go out in a cup to accept second place, and that’s what the Motherwell players have to keep in their minds. They have to go on and win it now.
“It’s such a great feeling to play at Hampden, and with it being Rangers, there will be a big crowd. But you can’t just be there for the experience. These boys at Motherwell now have to believe in themselves the way we did."
Another reason that O’Neill is so keen for Motherwell to reach another final at Hampden is that it gives him the perfect excuse to hop back over the Irish Sea and mingle with the fans who still adore him.
“I want to bring my girl over, she’s never been and she asks ‘will they know you?’ I tell her to just wait and see,” he said. “They treat me like a god over there, it’s unbelievable.
“I was in Jack Daniels, the pub near the ground, for three days the last time I was over. I don’t remember how I got out of it.
“They never forget you. It’s a chance for these boys to be remembered in the same way.
“It’s great to see the crowds coming back too. It’s starting to pick up again and you can feel that something special might just be in the air.”
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