We've got the buzz back

Engels hails old master O’Neill for getting him and the Hoops back to their best after worrying slump

- BY RYAN McDONALD

A GREAT Celtic man once famously said: “There's a buzz about the place.”

Decades on, those words uttered by the legendary Paul McStay couldn't be more apt.

After months in disarray, the Hoops are slowly but surely looking like their old selves. And there's no doubt Martin O'Neill has restored the feelgood factor at Parkhead.

How long the iconic gaffer stays in the dugout remains to be seen.

But if you asked most Celtic fans after Sunday's derby triumph at Hampden, theyd love him to see out the campaign and possibly beyond.

The Northern Irishman has lifted the entire mood of the club in the wake of Brendan Rodgers’ exit.

And Arne Engels — who wasn't even born when O'Neill led Celts to the 2003 UEFA Cup Final - admits the returning messiah has lifted the gloom that’s clouded Celtic Park since the summer transfer window.

Reflecting on the fresh air of positivity, the Belgian beamed: “I think everybody was just together and had a really good feeling.

“The things that are going on outside of our group are not something that we can change. We can change it by performances, that's true.

“But we just need to look to ourselves and hopefully get everybody involved again by really playing well and winning games like the one on Sunday.

“Of course, the manager that came in had a really positive feeling about everything and lifted the mood.

“So everybody is really happy.”

Few have benefited more than Engels, who has been given a new lease of life. The clubs record signing was bizarrely bombed for most of this season under Rodgers.