Martin O’Neill: Change of venue for Scottish Cup clash could help Celtic

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill admitted the change of venue for their Scottish Gas Scottish Cup clash with Auchinleck Talbot would likely favour his side.

The West of Scotland Premier Division club had to move the fourth-round tie away from their Beechwood Park home to nearby Rugby Park in Kilmarnock, following police instructions.

The Ayrshire outfit and their fans were not happy with the decision and O’Neill could see why.

“If I wasn’t manager of Celtic, I’d be really disappointed,” said O’Neill, whose side laboured to a 1-0 William Hill Premiership win at Falkirk on Wednesday.

“Now, as I am manager of Celtic, then I’m probably quite pleased. Do you know what? It might (help us).

“We need to play a lot better than we did the other night on the plastic surface anyway. Perhaps that might help level things out a wee bit.”

Talbot are traditionally one of the most successful sides in the history of the Scottish Juniors, the semi-professional rank that was self-contained until recent times.

They have won the Scottish Junior Cup 14 times and won the Scottish Junior West Region Super League title six times in seven years before Scottish football’s expanded pyramid in recent seasons.

Their performances in the Scottish Cup since being eligible to enter have been impressive. They have triumphed against the likes of Hamilton, Ayr and Cove Rangers, and held Hearts for 84 minutes in a very close game at Tynecastle.

Tommy Sloan’s side sit two points off leaders Troon in their league in the sixth tier of Scottish football – with two games in hand – and won 4-0 at Dumbarton in the third round of this competition.

O’Neill said: “I’ve watched them now, so I want to be really careful. They have some very, very decent attributes.

“I mean, they are a top quality Junior side, no question about it and they’ve got players who can play as well. So, it’s not as if this is like under-11s or something.”