Celtic travelled to Anfield for the second leg of their UEFA Cup quarter final in 2003 having it all to do. The first leg at Celtic Park had ended in a 1-1 draw and the English media, in their typically arrogant fashion, were quick to class the tie as being as good as over. Rab Douglas and his team-mates, however, had forgotten to read the script and, in one of Celtic's greatest European performances, the Bhoys soundly beat the Reds 2-0 on their own patch with goals from Alan Thompson and Big John Hartson. An earlier tie had seen Blackburn Rovers beaten by the same scoreline - a scoreline, incidentally, that we'll need this time just to get back in the tie - but Rab won't write off the present day team's chances of doing just that.
"The fact is everyone else down south will have dismissed Celtic's chances." he told the Scottish Sun. "No doubt the English football writers have already done it. It will definitely be tie over as far as they are concerned. I'm also certain there will be snide comments about the standard of the SPL and how Celtic won't be able to live with Arsenal at the Emirates. Fair enough, people down there can say what they want. But Celtic proved six years ago exactly what can happen - and I'd love to see Tony Mowbray's side emulate us on Wednesday night."
"The current side has an even harder task because of last week's defeat at Parkhead." added the keeper. "But an early goal by Celtic, or just making sure they get the first one, will really put Arsenal under massive pressure. I'd be very interested to see how they handled that, as good a side as they are. I'm also sure at the other end Artur Boruc will produce another big performance. He's done it before and he can do it again."
"I can never forget the Liverpool and Blackburn matches." said Douglas. "Martin O'Neill's team talks at Ewood Park and Anfield were brilliant. The players needed little extra motivation but Martin found precisely the right words in the dressing room for that added touch. I remember the hairs on the back of my neck were standing up as we ran out each time. Both Blackburn and Liverpool thought they had done enough. But we shocked them big style."
"The clean sheet at Anfield was particularly special for me." he said. "Up there with anything else I've achieved in my career. We did Scottish football proud with magnificent performances. That was important to us - to make sure the people down there gave our game a bit more respect. First and foremost we wanted success for Celtic. But we also didn't want anyone rubbishing our league as Micky Mouse."
"I'm sure it will be the same for the lads just now." added Rab. "That can be powerful motivation. Shaun Maloney and Aiden McGeady are tremendously talented boys. I saw that for myself in my time at Parkhead. I'm happy to see that both are in very good form. It would be a fantastic achievement for Celtic to get through. It was obviously a different era in 2003 and different players but without a doubt Celtic qualifying on Wednesday night would be as good a result as they've managed in recent times."