Hartson played under O’Neill for four seasons at Parkhead.
Former Celtic striker John Hartson has shared the individual tactical instructions which Martin O’Neill used to give him, in an interview with the42.ie.
O’Neill paid £6 million to bring the burly frontman north of the border from Coventry City in 2001 – a signing which proved to be one of his best at Parkhead.
Hartson scored 109 goals in 171 Bhoys appearances and was part of three league- and three cup-winning sides in his five years in Glasgow.
However, such an impressive goal tally was never at the forefront of O’Neill’s plans for the Welshman, it seems.
Hartson told the42.ie: “Martin O’Neill used to say to me: ‘John, today son, when the ball comes in to you, I want you to do two things’: Put your foot on the ball for me – that would be very nice of you. Stick that big arse of yours – because it’s getting ******* bigger by the way – into the defender and if you could possibly, please, just for me today, give it to a green and white shirt and get yourself in the box – that’s all you’ve got to do.
“Don’t have 10 million things in your mind when the ball is coming into you – ‘Am I going to flick it? Am I going to play it first time?’ Put your ******* foot on that ball, allow us as a team to come up the pitch, hold a few off like you do – that’s why I ******* paid 6 million pounds for you, son – this is what you do. And if you could just give it to a Celtic shirt.
“And I said ‘Is that all I’ve got to do? Really? Of course he wants me to get in the box, he wants me to get across defenders, he wants me to win my headers, he wants me to bring people into play but that was my instructions. And he’d tell everyone the same. He’d tell Neil Lennon: ‘Don’t hit 40/50 yard passes. Give it five yards. Do what you’re good at, son. You never score a goal. You never make a ******* goal – just give it four yards.'”
Hartson, who now works as a pundit for various television networks, left Celtic for West Bromwich Albion in 2006 and called time on his career two years later.
The Welshman also turned out for Luton Town, Arsenal, Wimbledon and West Ham United, scored 14 goals in 51 games for his country.
O’Neill, on the other hand, had already left Parkhead by the time of Hartson’s departure, and went on to manage Aston Villa and Sunderland before taking the Republic of Ireland job in 2013.
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