GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JANUARY 28: Celtic Manager Martin O'Neill during a Celtic MD-1 press conference at the Lennoxtown Training Centre, on January 28, 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)
According to Martin O’Neill Celtic are working strenuously to bring in new signings.
Whether they will be in by Sunday isn’t clear. The transfer window closes at 11pm on Monday February 2.
O’Neill was speaking to the media to preview the Europa League tie against Utrecht.
There was one token question about the Dutch side but the main focus was split between transfer inactivity and the events at Tynecastle on Sunday.
CELTIC- ANOTHER WASTED OPPORTUNITY
It is now 24 days since O’Neill returned for a second stint as interim manager.
During that time Michael Nicholson has added Tomas Cvancara to the squad.
Every couple of days O’Neill is put up in front of legacy media outlets to provide up dates on what is going on transfer wise.
You could shuffle all of the media conferences up, deal them out any way you like and come up with the same outcome.
Everyone is working hard, there are issues to overcome and of course January is a notoriously difficult month to do business.
Except for January 2022 when Celtic signed Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Yosuke Ideguchi and Matt O’Riley. Setting a standard before Peter Lawwell returned to exert his influence.
The club are playing in to this bias SMSM .. all the fans were asking for was few quality players then all this nonsense and negativity stops .. but the media are loving poking MON and how embarrassing of a club we have become .. shameful from this board
— gerald Mannion (@mannion_gerald) January 28, 2026
Watching O’Neill play dumb or slap around legacy media outlets does provide some humour.
However it is masking serious issues.
O’Neill is finding himself in a very similar situation to Brendan Rodgers. His biggest obstacles to getting a stronger team are all inside Celtic.
Whatever the set-up it doesn’t function.
NICHOLSON- THE REPEATED FAILINGS
Whether that is identifying players, the negotiating skills of Michael Nicholson or the inability to get sign off to complete transfers. Celtic doesn’t function despite the claims of Dermot Desmond.
It takes a special form of incompetence to fall from a Round of 16 Champions League Play Off to being third in the SPFL.
The problems have been obvious since Nicholson celebrated the sale of Kyogo Furuhashi a year ago.
There are five trading days left in the transfer window. Two of them are match-days.
The timing for joking and gags is over.
Nicholson has failed yet again. Within a week Celtic fans will be expecting some explanations, not funny asides or references to the age of their manager.
Not much else he can do, board have used him for his loyalty and left him high and dry. They’ll turn on him yet you watch
— John Kennedy???? (@JohnKennedy2004) January 28, 2026
MON is beyond reproach in any of this.
Shameful anyone should be targeting him for any reason when he has come into a clusterfuck that most wouldn’t touch with a bargepole.
Just because he chooses the softly softly approach doesn’t make him part of the problem.
If people are finding his approach tiresome maybe they should just get back on the blower to Nancy…..remember him folks?
Would it do lasting damage to Martin if he just said , I’m unhappy that we’ve not strengthened the team to enable us to put in a strong challenge for the rest of the season, he may offend the cast off Wall Street upstairs, but he’ll still be a legend with the fans , or maybe they are trying to sign players but are just not good at it . GOD only knows HH
Boy4 you need to read things to understand them and not just react to the words.
Joe is not saying Martin is part of the problem but is not helping things by making light of more serious problems facing Celtic.
Ignore this and we’ll get Wifred Nancy mark 2 no mistake.
MON needs to watch his back for his own sake.
Wasn’t aimed at Joe, was aimed at those with memories that only go back a month.
Like chalk on a blackboard! And theres me givjng away ma age but its wearing thin, the chalk that is
Does Lucan go out anywhere in Glasgow…
And do any Celtic supporters ask him questions if they meet him !
Martin should walk NOW before this useless board destroys his hard won legacy. He is far too loyal.