More than a quarter of a century after he first walked into the white-hot cauldron of an Old Firm derby, Martin O’Neill still feels addicted to the sheer madness of it all.O’Neill’s first experience of the fixture, a 6-2 demolition of Rangers at Celtic Park back in the year 2000, is well documented. His second taste of the derby, perhaps less so.‘The second one wasn’t that good,’ reflected the 74-year-old. ‘We got mauled — absolutely bleached 5-1 at Ibrox.‘I think we drew 0-0 with Hibs on the Wednesday afterwards, so we actually dropped five points in two games.‘If those things had happened in the first couple of games at the start of the season, I don’t think I would be around to tell you about it…‘This might be Derek’s [McInnes] first derby as a manager, but he’s steeped in Rangers, so it’s no problem.’ Martin O’Neill’s first taste of derby day came back in August 2000 when his side won 6-2For O’Neill, there is something intoxicating about this fixture. The chaos of it all is something that never leaves you. It can be the cause of sleepless nights and it can also be the cause of feelings of pure euphoria.He has taken charge of more than 30 Old Firm derbies but the same surge of energy still pulses through him, even if the prospect of 50,000 people shouting abuse at him would make a quieter vocation more appealing.For O’Neill, the Old Firm is more than just a match. It is a lifelong compulsion — the ultimate high or the ultimate low, depending on the outcome.After all these years, he is still chasing the next fix, still hooked on the rivalry that defined his first tenure at Parkhead. In Glasgow, as in life itself, some addictions are incredibly hard to kick.‘I still worry, I have done all my life,’ said the Celtic manager ahead of tomorrow’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final at Ibrox.‘I continue to worry about these matches, it doesn’t get any easier. Did I expect to be sitting here talking about another Old Firm game? Absolutely not. I sometimes do think, what am I doing here?!‘It’s the 25th anniversary of 9/11 and I remember way back then we were preparing for the Rosenborg game in the Champions League. It’s incredible to be sitting here 25 years on.‘Yes, this fixture does become addictive in a way. Will I be glad to see the back of it? Well, yes, I will.‘I’m desperate for that coffee on the Kings Road again, I really am. I’d like to know what normal life is like again — because this is not normal.‘No, I shouldn’t say that. There’s part of me — there must be part of me — that loves it. But did this type of fixture make me want to stay? No — it made me think the opposite. Absolutely. O’Neill’s players were involved in countless battles against Rangers during his first stint ‘Do I want to go to Ibrox again and hear all that abuse behind me? No, no, absolutely not. My daughter — who is much more clever than me — said for every person that loves you there’s a million that hate you. I keep that in mind.‘I’m well and truly outnumbered. There will be thousands behind [in the dugout] me chanting something or other.’This will be the first instalment of an Old Firm double-header, with the sides meeting once again at Celtic Park in the Premiership next weekend.Celtic will kick-off their Europa League campaign against Ferencvaros in Glasgow next Thursday, with O’Neill determined to go unbeaten across the three games.He also believes tomorrow’s match could have a direct bearing on the outcome next week, as evidenced by the league and Scottish Cup double-header last season.Celtic fought back from 2-0 down to claim a point at Ibrox last term, before then knocking Rangers out of the Scottish Cup on penalties the following week.‘I always used to feel that Old Firm matches, particularly the league games, could define a season,’ continued the Celtic boss.‘I used to think that if you lost all four derbies but still won the league, then that’s fine. I don’t think Celtic fans would be having that now. I don’t think Rangers fans would be having it either.‘I was soon disavowed of that particular thought. What I’m saying is that it would be highly unlikely to win the league if you had lost all four games against Rangers and vice versa.‘These games can have a knock-on effect psychologically when you play each other twice in the space of a week. The Celtic manager went unbeaten in Old Firm clashes on his return to the dugout last season‘I think you saw that last season when we fought back from 2-0 down to get a draw — and then beat them in the cup the following week. Yes, these games can influence each other.’The main conundrum around O’Neill’s team selection will be in the forward line, with the fit-again Kasper Hogh likely to lead the line.Camilo Duran will also be certain to play given his excellent start to the new season, with a place on the other wing up for grabs.That is presuming that O’Neill goes with the 4-3-3 system. He could well go to a back three in more of a 3-5-2, something which he feels could actually suit Duran and his preference to play centrally.‘I think he can play as a centre-forward or just off the centre-forward,’ said O’Neill when asked about Duran’s best position. ‘I think those are probably his best positions.‘He played wide against Kilmarnock and I thought he was excellent. But I think he likes to be up there [centrally] and trying to score a few goals.‘It’s up to us now to coach him in a few different positions over the season and make sure we really get the best out of him.‘Kasper was good the other night. We’ve got three huge games over the course of the next week in three different competitions. It would be nice to go through this period unbeaten if we possibly can. By the time we then come back from the international break, Kasper will be a big player for us.‘In all honesty, I hadn’t realised how many games he had played prior to joining us due to how the season works over in Norway.’