Psycho
COLIN O'NEIL snarls at the camera as if poised to make another bone-crunching 50-50.
His chest is pumping and his heart is racing as sweat pours from his brow.
Sporting a 'Motherwell FC Psycho' tattoo, O'Neil is still every bit the legend his sweat soaked t-shirt suggests.
To this day, still a hero to thousands of Well fans - the Ulsterman was an integral part of Tommy McLean's famous 1991 Scottish Cup winning side.
He was a combative midfielder who thrived on his hard man image.
Now, after shedding two and a half stones in his battle to beat the bulge, Psycho reckons he's almost back to his fighting weight.
He said: "I'm doing about 110 miles a week on the bike. I go from Belfast to Carrickfergus and back.
"After that I go to the gym and hit the cross trainer, I do about eight miles on that.
"I can't run at all, my hip is too painful. I started the fitness programme last August and I've lost two and a half stone. The Motherwell boys won't recognise me.
"Everyone was asking me if I'm not well, but I've just been training hard."
As O'Neil admits, even a brisk walk is beyond him now.
The years of clattering opponents on the pitch has taken its toll on his hip and next month he will undergo surgery in Belfast.
He added: "I'm going for a hip replacement in June.
"I suppose that's what I get for booting people off the park for 15 years!
"My hip is completely worn out, crashing into walls and goalposts hasn't helped."
O'Neil's place in Fir Park folklore is assured. His never-to-be-forgotten 40-yard screamer against Celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final in 1991 made sure of that.
He claims he'd be a wealthy man if he'd pocketed a pound for every time he'd been asked about THAT goal in the epic 4-2 win.
He smiled: "A boy came into my house once and thought my TV was broken.
"I had my goal playing on repeat non-stop.
"If I had a pound for every time I've been asked about that goal I'd be a rich man.
"I was shopping in Belfast recently and some random guy just stopped me in the street and started speaking to me about the goal.
"People remember the goal and I'm glad about that.
"That Motherwell team will always be held in high regard.
"Some people might say they don't want the current team to win because they will forget about us.
"The Motherwell fans will never forget us."
Two decades on and Motherwell are back at Hampden again dreaming of Scottish Cup glory.
O'Neil admits: "I can't believe it all happened 20 years ago. I'm just delighted the club have got back to the Scottish Cup Final.
"It's brilliant both for Motherwell and for the supporters. They don't get much success, the last thing they won was the Cup with us. It's great to see them back there."
Psycho hopes to be at Hampden with the survivors from '91 and he admits it will be an emotional occasion for them all.
He added: "There is talk of the '91 team going to the final. That would be great.
"The only time the lads seem to meet up is in tragic circumstances.
"I was back for wee Dougie Arnott's testimonial, but Jamie Dolan had just died so there was no celebration that night.
"It's great to get back and I still keep in touch with a lot of the boys. It's hard for me to get over but I miss it, I miss the craic.
"I'd been doing a bit of coaching but I had to stop that because of my hip.
"I miss the day-to-day involvement in football.
"It was my life and I loved winding my team-mates up."
O'Neil relished his tussles with Well's cup final opponents Celtic and in particular Peter Grant.
The pair famously clashed at Fir Park in 1990, with O'Neil catching Grant in the face with a flying elbow and he became the first player in Scotland to face trial by TV.
O'Neil recalls: "People always talk about my elbow with Peter Grant.
"He spat at me so I elbowed him but we shook hands and a week later we were at a dinner together.
"I played hard, but I shook hands at the end. Now people are rolling around screaming. If I was playing now I'd have an early bath each week."
Scottish Sun
Can't get the picture as its copyrighted. Got to love his tattoo
