The Hoops boss manager is back in business after being down in the dumps on the back of Old Firm double disappointment

There were plenty of supporters who wondered if Martin O’Neill’s heart was still in it a few weeks ago.

The man himself voiced his own doubts. But any misgivings were demolished in one moment during Sunday’s rag-dolling of hapless Hearts. It wasn’t a trademark leaping celebration or race down the touchline after one of the barrel load of goals.

It was his reaction to the Jambos hitting the net. Celtic were already four up and coasting when Laurent Mendy bent one in to the bottom corner but O’Neill did his dinger at the officials after clocking Hearts had nicked about 20 yards for a throw in in the build up.

The Northern Irishman hit the roof – with even Hoops fans slightly bemused at the combustion, given the game was already practically out of sight. But it immediately brought back memories of O’Neill of old. The fact Celta Vigo are in town on Thursday on Europa duty only added to the sense of irony.

O’Neill had some epic meltdowns at officials during his first spell in charge at Parkhead 25 years ago. His one against the Spaniards was a cracker – where he was banished to the stands and accused the fourth official of PUSHING him.

Henrik Larsson’s goal was enough to give the Hoops a first leg win in Glasgow and John Hartson’s away goal ensured they progressed to the UEFA Cup semi-final on another thrilling step on the road to Seville. O’Neill was thrilled to gain a halfway lead but he’d barely calmed down afterwards.

He roared: “The fourth official actually pushed me. It was inappropriate without a doubt. I don’t know whether we would have any chance of doing anything about it. I would probably say no chance, but I certainly want to send some video evidence of that particular incident and of the game itself.

“The referee’s performance left a lot to be desired. He tried to ruin what was a brilliant evening for us. He did his best to spoil proceedings and he had an obvious problem with the linesman because he overruled him consistently and excessively. That affected the linesman’s confidence, but that’s enough talking about it because the referee did detract from our performance. The players were terrific against a top class side.”

O’Neill may have mellowed a tad but Sunday proved it’s not by much. His touchline rant was as welcome a sight to fans as the seven goals and Jota putting Jordi Altena on his backside. The Blessed Martin might be back in business.

Not so long ago it seemed he’d shut up shop. That press conference after losing to Rangers for a second time in a week looked like the end. O’Neill looked like a beaten man, and if Dermot Desmond had offered him a way out, he might have walked off into the sunset.

The 74-year-old has remained and he’s got Celts back on track with a couple of impressive domestic wins against Motherwell and Hearts – two games many doom mongers had marked down as potential killers. Instead, it’s Celts who were lethal.

It’s a different ball game now though with Europe. Yet there are signs the fires are still burning there for the manager. O’Neill’s hero status with supporters of a certain age will never be diminished but his comments about prioritising the league when the draw was made for the Europa League jarred with many, especially when punters were being asked to stump up for ticket packages. It was a misstep from a man who usually gets it spot on.

Of course Celtic fans want to win the league. But they have done that 16 times in 20 years. They want more. They want a taste of European success. No one expects Celtic to be lifting the Champions League again but getting to the latter stages in a Europa or Conference shouldn’t be a distant dream.

Heck, just not being continually embarrassed on the continental arena would be a start. There has been a slight u-turn from O’Neill over this in the last week or so. He boldly claimed Celtic could still qualify for the knockout rounds despite losing to Ferencvaros and Benfica, and then on Sunday he branded the Vigo showdown as win or bust.

There is a determination there. It was there last season too. Celtic could have written off Europe at times, especially after O’Neill as caretaker watched the side slaughtered by Midtjylland in Denmark. They had major problems on the home front at the time and the Europa did seem more of a distraction – even if it should never be.

O’Neill didn’t see it that way. He managed to pull off some cracking results, like Feyenoord away, the draw in Bologna and the home win over Utrecht. There was a constant sense he was protecting Celtic’s reputation on foreign fields.

That reputation has taken a pasting this term. The capitulation against LASK was mortifying. Ferencvaros was another one for the Parkhead Euro wall of shame and Benfica was a rerun of dozens of away jaunts to top sides over the years.

They would have stung O’Neill and added fuel for Thursday. He won’t be fooled into thinking everything is hunky dory because after Hearts either. It was a powerful statement win but, bizarrely, the Jambos still had 20 attempts on goal, even if most of them were power puff.

Celta Vigo might be mid-table in La Liga and a level below the Spanish big guns, but they won’t be so generous at either end of the pitch. The issues that have plagued Celts against better teams remain. How will they cope without the ball? Can they hang tough during periods of stress?

O’Neill has his mojo back but needs a game plan and an attitude like he had against Celta back in 2003 – to prove his side are no pushovers.