‘Cult hero’ Colin pays tribute to pal Dougie

Jul 31 2008 by Andrew McGilvray, Hamilton Advertiser

A MAN dubbed “Motherwell’s Greatest Ever Cult Hero” is the latest former Fir Park star to sign up for Dougie Arnott’s testimonial game.

Midfielder Colin O’Neill joins goalkeeper Sieb Dijkstra on the confirmed list for the clash against an Old Firm Select on Thursday, September 11.

Irishman O’Neill has fond memories of striker Arnott from their time at Fir Park.

He said: “Dougie was close to me in many ways. He was an ordinary guy who always gave 100 per cent for the team.

“He never had his head in the clouds and the fans identified with him, as he could easily have worked in Ravenscraig at the time.”

He added: “Dougie did a lot of unselfish running off the ball that many people didn’t see, but this was a quality that was admired by his team-mates.

“He was also good in the air for someone his size, and this was shown when he scored a header against Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final in 1991.”

That memorable match saw Motherwell dump Celtic 4-2 on their way to an historic and epic 4-3 win over Dundee United.

Many supporters cherish the memory of defeating Celtic in the semi-final, with O’Neill scoring a scorcher from 35 yards, adding to an Arnott double and a Stevie Kirk strike.

Looking back on that game, O’Neill said he has a bone to pick with Arnott for daring to claim his goal was a fluke in TV interviews!

He said: “Dougie asked in a post-match interview: ‘did he mean it?’ Well, I can tell him that I did.

“If you watch the video you can see that I have a look and I thought, ‘I’m just going to hit it’.

“But if you also watch the video, Nick Cusack was clean through and manager Tommy McLean said after the game that if it hadn’t gone in I would have been on the boat back to Northern Ireland!”

Having played in the recent Phil O’Donnell tribute match at Celtic Park, O’Neill is looking forward to meeting up with some old team-mates.

He said: “We knew we had a half-decent side back then but never got the credit we deserved, as you’re always in the shadow of the Old Firm.

“Therefore it was great to win the cup and get some of that recognition.”

For more information on the testimonial game and other events planned throughout the year, visit: www.dougie-arnott.com