Hibs defender Warren O’Hora spent his childhood proudly sporting a Celtic top, running around as a young fan of the Glasgow giants. But this afternoon, the 25-year-old will be tasked with chasing them down at Celtic Park, as his current side aim to cause an upset.
Raised in a Celtic-supporting family in Dublin, O’Hora fondly recalls watching Scott Brown lift trophies and dominate the midfield during his Celtic heyday.
For the Irishman, running out at Parkhead earlier this season in the Premier Sports Cup was a moment to cherish, even if the result didn’t go his way.
Now, as he prepares to face his boyhood heroes again, O’Hora is determined to flip the script.
“For me personally, it was amazing to walk out and play in such a big stadium, such a big club,” he said.
“The atmosphere there is amazing and it can probably be quite intimidating, but we’re all footballers.
“Coming from Dublin, coming from Ireland, there’s definitely a few fans and a few jerseys going through the family somewhere, and probably on myself when I was a kid.
“Who’d have been the guys I watched when I was younger? Scott Brown and players like that. I’m not too old, believe me! I’m only 25. It wouldn’t have been too long ago. But look, I’ll be going into this game trying to take all three points back with us.
“We can sit down and talk about them all day, we respect them for where they are in the league. We respect them for that, definitely. But I’m sure if we turn up and play to the best of our abilities, we’ll be just fine.”
O’Hora and his teammates will need to bring their best. The previous encounter between the sides, in the Premier Sports Cup last 16, ended in defeat for Hibs.
That loss came just a week after another league defeat to Celtic. On both occasions, Hibs were undone by early goals, something O’Hora insists the team must address.
“They score a lot of goals early on in games because of how quick and intense they start. We have to be ready for that. That’s the biggest part when you play a team of Celtic’s calibre, it’s all about mentally,” he explained.
“There is no doubt about it they work you physically, and it’s your brain that tends to try to go first and get tired first. Against a team like Celtic, once that happens, you can be in trouble. The staff have reiterated that. There’s no time to switch off in a game like this, so we’ll be fully focused for hopefully 90-plus minutes.”
Hibs will head into the clash buoyed by their recent 3-0 win over Motherwell, a result that has lifted the mood in the camp and moved them away from the foot of the table.
“The atmosphere’s been good and the win changes everybody’s mood and things like that,” O’Hora said.
“Look, we still have a lot of work to be doing and we know that. We’re not getting ahead of ourselves in that aspect but it was a good performance from us and we need to build on it.”
With confidence restored and lessons learned, O’Hora is eager to face Celtic again—this time, with hopes of leaving Parkhead with more than just admiration for the stadium.
