Martin O'Neill names best team he managed and singles out one ...

Martin O'Neill has named the best team he ever managed in a three-decade career spanning ten teams across multiple countries, including international level.

The Co Derry man, who enjoyed a glittering career as a player including a key role in back-to-back European Cup wins with Nottingham Forest during the club's golden era, reflected on his long career in football during a conversation with Roy Keane, Ian Wright, Gary Neville and Jill Scott as part of the 'Stick to Football' podcast.

O'Neill, whose father was a founding member of the GAA club in Kilrea and whose brothers played for the Derry county team, named the Celtic team he led to the UEFA Cup final against Jose Mourinho's Porto in 2003 as the greatest team he ever managed.

Read more: Roy Keane opens up on working with Martin O'Neill as he pinpoints the highlight of his career

The former Ireland manager, who attended St Columb's College in Derry and St Malachy's College in Belfast as a schoolboy, also singled out Lurgan man and former Northern Ireland captain Neil Lennon for special praise during his podcast appearance.

He named the Co Armagh man the "driving force" behind the team as he compared his influence on the side to that of Roy Keane for Manchester United in the 1990s and 2000s.

Asked by host Gary Neville whether the Aston Villa team that Martin O'Neill managed between 2006 and 2010 was his best ever team, the Kilrea man said: "Well, at Celtic we got to the UEFA Cup final in 2003 against Jose Mourinho's side who went on to win the Champions League the following year.

"We got beaten in extra time 3-2, we had a man sent off in the game, we could have won."

He joked: "They play acted a lot. Every time they scored a goal they went back to Porto to celebrate."

O'Neill also praised the Dick Advocaat Rangers team he faced when he first took on the Celtic job in 2000, saying: "Rangers were a really strong side. That Rangers side of then would beat this Rangers side.

"They had lost the league by about 21 points, Celtic, before. Obviously I needed some decent players, I inherited some decent players. I had Paul Lambert, I had young Stilyan Petrov who was trying to make the grade. I brought in Chris [Sutton] because Mark Viduka wanted to leave. Confidence was really low and signing Chris Sutton was big for us.

"We won our first couple of games which was great, and then we beat Rangers in a big, big game. 6-2 in my first game ever at Celtic Park. We were three-nil up on 11 minutes and I turned round to John Clarke, little John Clarke who was a member of the 1967 [European Cup winning] team, and I said 'how long's left'. He said 'there's only 69 minutes to go.

"That game, and Celtic fans talk about it now like a seminal game. It didn't immediately make us think we were going to win the league but it set a mindset for us. And in the course of time, over the next couple of months, I signed Alan Thompson, I signed Didier Agathe, and then I signed Neil Lennon. Lennon came in December time."

Turning to Roy Keane, he continued: "I honestly think, my view is, Lennon was to us what you were to Manchester United. Honestly, the real driving force of the side. I seldom made him captain of the team but he really was that. Paul Lambert was the captain, Paul in a different manner. But Lennon was, you know, he was crabbit, he was all of those things, he did great."

He added: "I had him at Leicester and, in fairness, if I hadn't signed him at Leicester I wouldn't be sitting talking to you now."

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