It's with a trademark twinkle in his eye that Martin O'Neill takes a diplomatic stance on whether his treble winning Celtic side would leave the current team its wake.
The Irishman preferred to use the Lisbon Lions as the flag bearers of best ever in a week when Neil Lennon claimed the likes of Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton, John Hartson and himself would have put Ange Postecoglou's lot to the sword. There was though a firm belief from the former Hoops boss the Rangers of today would be no match for the Light Blue outfit from his time in Glasgow.
Whether Kyogo, Callum McGregor or Jota would have won a place in the class of 2003 which reached the Uefa Cup Final is a pub chat debate and O'Neill conceded the standard of the Premiership across the board is a pale shadow from when he donned a tracksuit in the Parkhead dugout.
He said: “Obviously I am biased because I thought we had a really, really good team. Sometimes it is difficult to assess. But like everything else, if you are talking about my old favourite word, the benchmark, then the best side Celtic have ever had was the European Cup team of 67 obviously. Until any Celtic side wins the European Cup again those comparisons or contrasts are going to be a bit far-reaching aren’t they?
“But I thought we had a terrific team, a really good side, very strong. And we had to be strong because I thought Rangers were really good. The Rangers side of the time I was there, you could not only have respect for them, you could fear them, really.
“The Rangers side of today I don’t think would have lived with the Rangers side of the time I was there. That’s just my view. You were talking about Ronald de Boer, Gio Van Bronckhorst, Michael Mols, Barry Ferguson, the goalkeeper, Arthur Numan, you could go through the side. Brilliant, brilliant players. You would have to say that the side now wouldn’t be a patch on them."
O'Neill was back in Scotland ahead of Sunday's Old Firm Scottish Cup Final at Hampden and he has watched the widening chasm between the big two and the rest of the top-flight and he spoke with a rueful shake of his head. The 71-year-old believes the gulf is down to the share of revenue generated from a bumper SKY deal allowing smaller clubs to make a greater fist of competing back in his day.
He said: “I honestly really don’t know what happened, it’s a shame. First of all, I like to think it’s on the up. In my time up here, I thought the other sides were stronger. If you went to Aberdeen you had a really difficult game, and I know Rangers found that out just last week.
“There was Dundee with the group of Georgian boys, they could turn up and do you. Going to Tannadice was really difficult. I don’t think the rest of the league is as strong now as when we were involved. Now, what has happened in that time? Would it be finance?
“I don’t know whether there was a phenomenal amount of finance around in our time but Sky were covering the games. I think there then was an ask for more money and Sky decided to drop it. We generated money perhaps by playing in Europe. I don’t know all the reasons for it.
“Of course, when the other sides are not so strong. Celtic and Rangers would expect to win the league regardless of what year it is, but not by the margins they are going clear now."
Even if O'Neill attempted to body swerve like for like comparisons, he did offer a generous analysis of the players currently pulling on the Hoops and he insists the aim has to be to graduate from towering over the domestic scene to making inroads in the Champions League next season by learning the lessons from the last European campaign.
He said: “It is a different side. Essentially some of the midfield players and forwards are smaller but there is a lot of pace about the team and a lot of interaction between them as well. They have been a joy to watch, they have been really good. I think that they play the game with no fear.
‘Listen, Celtic at this minute have some really talented players and anybody could argue that some could get into our side and some could argue that some of my team could get into this present side.
“I think after a stodgy start to the manager’s time here he has pulled it around brilliantly and the team goes in now feeling it is capable of winning matches domestically, which they expect to do, but I think they can take that into European football next year.”
“I think Europe would have been a really good learning curve for them. I thought they were always in the matches they played even if the results didn’t show that at the end. I think there can be a couple of adjustments, which I think you have to make in European football, not everything has to be a beautiful moment, teams in European football are capable of taking you on and scoring at the other end. It is just about adjustments. I would be looking forward to Celtic’s run in Europe next season to see how they get on. I’m sure those experiences will stand them in really good stead.
"Celtic have been a joy to watch. With a couple of adjustments, I think they could make a decent impact in the Champions League which would be lovely."
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