Inside Martin O'Neill's 2001 Celtic treble-clincher

It's 21 years since Martin O'Neill's Celtic scooped the domestic treble by beating Hibernian 3-0 in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden.

The Swiss defender spent five months at Parkhead. He played 26 times – and lost just twice as he completed the clean sweep.

In so doing he played his part in history, ensuring O’Neill’s side became the first Celtic team to win all three domestic trophies since Jock Stein’s class of 1969.

“I spent five wonderful months at Celtic,” Vega told The Celtic Way. “It was Martin O’Neill’s first season – a joyous time to be at the club.

“It may have been achieved 21 years ago but I remember it all like it was yesterday. Those few months at Celtic were a special time.

“Even today the Celtic supporters come up to me and they retain a fondness for that season and period under Martin.

“Rangers were the dominant force back then. The season before, Celtic had lost the title by 21 points. All of a sudden O’Neill came in and ‘boom’ they won the lot in one year.

“I still get goosebumps when I talk about it and it happened 21 years ago.”

The Hoops were truly relentless under O'Neill and stormed to the title by 15 points from Dick Advocaat's Rangers.

By then Kilmarnock had already been disposed of in the League Cup final courtesy of a Henrik Larsson hat-trick at Hampden in March.

All that remained was the Scottish Cup showpiece against Hibs and Vega would complete a full set of domestic medals in barely a quarter-century of matches.

Alex McLeish's Leith side had gathered a reputation for being an attacking side who entertained and played good football. Nonetheless, the odds were heavily stacked against the men from Edinburgh.

There was an assuredness about O'Neill's men from the moment Vega walked in the door and bagged a brace in the 6-0 destruction of Aberdeen in January on his debut.

He was upstaged that day by Larsson. Who else?

The super Swede bagged a hat-trick to steal the limelight from Celtic's new recruit.

It was Larsson who grabbed the headlines again at Hampden against the Hibees – but only after an unlikely source gave Celtic the breakthrough.

Jackie McNamara had been on the bench but came on to replace the injured Lubomir Moravcik after only 14 minutes.

The Scotland defender deftly slid home the opener six minutes before the break and went on to set up Larsson for his 52nd goal of the season three minutes after the restart. The ‘King of Kings’ made it 53 from the penalty spot 10 minutes from time.

That was a total which would win Larsson the coveted European Golden Shoe as the continent’s top goalscorer.

“We were a confident team heading in that final,” Vega recalls. “Lubo went off injured but Jackie came on and ‘bang’ he scored the opening goal.

“Then Henrik did what he always did – scored. The second was a class finish and we knew after that went in that we had won the treble.

“He had got a hat-trick in my first game against Aberdeen. We won 6-0, I thought I was doing alright by scoring twice… he scored three. Then against Kilmarnock in the League Cup final he netted another treble.

“I look back at Henrik and just think ‘wow’. He was remarkable. It’s no surprise he won the Golden Shoe. He was absolutely brilliant.”

Whilst Vega lapped up the celebrations inside the national stadium after the Hibs game, it was nothing compared to the scenes of jubilation when the team returned to Celtic Park to parade the trophy in front of the supporters.

READ MORE: Former Celtic assistant John Robertson on Martin O'Neill, Seville and bringing success back to Parkhead - The Big Interview

“The night we beat Hibs and took the trophy back to Celtic Park was magical,” he said. “Bearing in mind O’Neill’s side was the first Celtic team to lift every trophy since Jock Stein’s… it was all quite surreal.

“Stein’s team, the Lisbon Lions, had won the European Cup in 1967 yet we were the first Celtic side to win the lot domestically since that era.”

A big part of the 2001 side’s success, Vega insists, was the relationship between the players and O’Neill’s backroom staff of John Robertson and Steve Walford.

Vega recalls that Robertson – a double European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest – used to take part in the Friday five-a-sides at training and even back then he could still kick it.

"John Robertson and Steve Walford were a very important conduit to the manager and the players,” he said. “Robertson was more of a team-mate than an assistant coach.

"He would take part in the Friday five-a-sides and he still had fantastic skills at his age. He was wonderful to have on the left wing and, despite the fact he smoked like a chimney, he'd still run up and down in the matches and do his thing. It was brilliant to watch.

"That is what O'Neill brought to Celtic. Robertson and Walford really made that connection and link between the team and the gaffer. He delegated responsibility a lot to them, they were a huge part of the club's success.

"The manager had authority because he distanced himself from the players but, at the same time, he gave us the confidence to go out and perform to a very high level every week.

"O'Neill commanded the utmost respect from the experienced players and we were really together as a unit and a group.

"We had players within the squad like Chris Sutton, Neil Lennon, Alan Thompson and myself who had all played in England and Paul Lambert who had won the Champions League.

Vega celebrates at Hampden after beating Hibs

"We were the guys leading the team, although the dressing room ran itself really.

"But Robertson and Walford were a huge part of the team spirit and camaraderie that was fostered in that Celtic dressing room.

"By the time we played Hibs in that Scottish Cup final going for the treble we knew we had a great chance of winning it.

"O'Neill, Robertson and Walford instilled us with confidence and we just went out and did the job. It was a brilliant time to be at the club.”

It's more than two decades on from when the O'Neill trophy-laden era at Celtic started with a bang. To Vega, though, it's like the feel-good film of the year is playing out in his mind’s eye.

“It was so intense and quick,” he said. “In the beginning, it didn't really register with me what I was walking into and what we would go on to achieve.

"I signed on loan from Tottenham and, in a few months, I'd won a treble with Celtic. The supporters never forget you when you do something like that.

“Everybody I talked to when I was away on international duty with Switzerland I told them about the Celtic fans, they’re the best on the planet.

“My stay may have been short, but it was so sweet. Celtic gave me the best life experience as a player in my career. That’s not even a question. I’ll never forget the way the supporters treated me.

“I still treasure the three medals I won. Whenever I think about the 2000-01 season with Celtic it just plays out like a movie in my head."

For Vega, it was the sporting equivalent of a Hollywood blockbuster. Thankfully for him, it also had the ultimate fairytale ending.