9th September 2026; McDiarmid Park, Perth, Scotland: Scottish Premiership Football, St Johnstone versus Celtic; Celtic manager Martin ONeill
Martin O’Neill told a media conference on Friday that ‘this isn’t Celtic at all’.
He was reacting to the Green Brigade statement that they won’t be taking up any cup tickets this season.They will be sitting it out for the Europa League and Scottish Cup. Just as O’Neill’s side have in the Champions League and League Cup.
O’Neill referenced the UEFA Cup Final in Seville as what Celtic should be.
And so do we Martin, so do we.
Led by a young, ambitious manager full of hope and fired up to take on and beat the very best.
O’Neill v1 assembled a mighty squad, he had a core of 12 exceptional players of which any of half a dozen couple have been captain.
In midfield he relied on Neil Lennon, Paul Lambert and Stan Petrov.
This season it is very clear that Callum McGregor, Mika Baur and Ben Nygren don’t function together. All good players but not a unit.
MARTIN O’NEILL- THE CELTIC MANAGER LOST IN TIME
O’Neill’s strike force was any two from Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton and John Hartson. The Welshman missed the final in Seville through injury but scored vital goals away to Celta Vigo and Liverpool to get there.
Currently O’Neill is trying to work out how his three summer signings can play together. In mid-October.
In two weeks Celta Vigo return to Celtic Park. Celtic Communications will tug on the emotions with every contrived link to 2002/03 dredged up.
O’Neill wants the scenes of Seville revived by supporters.
Perhaps he could suggest to ‘the owner’ that a flicker of ambition on the park might help restore something resembling the Seville feeling among those troublesome anti-establishment fans?
Responding to news that The Green Brigade wouldn’t be attending any cup matches this season O’Neill said:
What I will say is that when the club came together and it was really big, and I can remember the days of having 80,000 people in Seville without an arrest, that’s Celtic to me. Or the final whistle going in the last match of the season, where the crowd come onto the pitch and that’s like a euphoric state. Those are phenomenal memories which I’ll never forget.
But at the end of it all, it is a sad situation. And I think we have to have, as a football manager, to go through all of that again. All I do know is that when the club were together towards the end of the season, I genuinely felt we were unbeatable.
Lovely memories from a time long past.
HAS O’NEILL FORGOTTEN ABOUT POST-SEVILLE?
Following the run to the final of the UEFA Cup O’Neill was able to sign Michael Gray on loan from Sunderland.
The on-loan Stan Varga joined on a permanent basis as a free agent.
In January Celtic splashed out £350,000 to sign Stephen Pearson from Motherwell.
Three months earlier a dark force entered the club.
On an initial salary of £248,000 a year Peter Lawwell replaced Ian MacLeod is CEO. By season 2018/19 Lawwell’s income from Celtic reached £3.5m. If only the performances of the team had tracked in a similar direction.
Austerity was trending.
Celtic beat Teplice and Barcelona in the spring of 2004. There has been no knock-out wins in UEFA competitions since then.
Two years after Seville Celtic lost a Champions League qualifier to Artmedia Bratislava. Lawwell was firmly in control over new manager Gordon Strachan.
And that is why Celtic fans are so frustrated.
Under Lawwell, and his chosen successor Michael Nicholson, Celtic don’t even aspire towards the Slow Lane that O’Neil v1 warned against over 20 years ago.
On Friday O’Neill said ‘this isn’t Celtic at all’ in reference to protests and a divided support.
THE PAINFUL 2026 CELTIC REALITY CHECK
Celtic should be about good runs in Europe. Taking on and beating Liverpool and Stuttgart.
Instead we have the Celtic of losing to Maribor, Malmo, AEK Athens, Cluj, Ferencvaros, Midtjlland, Kairat Almaty and LASK Linz.
And O’Neill walked happily into that gig.
He watched the club from afar for two decades.
He came to the rescue twice last season then in June decided to take on a year long contract.
Wilfried Nancy was blind sided.
O’Neill knew exactly what he was walking into.
By slaughtering the fans in front of his fawning media buddies O’Neill has badly punctured his relationship with Celtic supporters.
Not the wisest of moves to make when you take a look at the run of fixtures coming up. Thursday evening in Lisbon has an ominous look about it. Only a few hours drive away from Seville but with Celtic light years away from being the club that they could be.
All that remains from the Seville run is Communications Manager Iain Jamieson. Even back then he wasn’t good enough but a Directorship can’t be ruled out for the ‘media guru’.
After Seville and the brakes being slammed on, I remember a vibrant, passionate manager reacting with fury to our new life ‘in the slow lane’.
I wonder what happened to him?
If you drill down into what MON has said, he’s actually right enough, it’s not Celtic.
The problem is, he isn’t acknowledging why it isn’t Celtic.
It’s highly unlikely he’s gonna get sacked, there’s an outside chance he might walk away depending on results, he’s deffo not be hired anywhere else once he goes.
So I find it strange he doesn’t address the current situation more appropriately.
I don’t expect him to come out all guns blazing, but at the very least a nod to what’s going on and why, and the impact that is having on the club, players & supporters.
To dismiss it just kicks the can down the road.
Those suggesting that MON’s legacy is in danger because of his attitude on this need to get a grip.
His silence or evasion of the topic in no way tarnishes his achievements for this club.
I remember some public friction between the then Chairman, Brian Quinn (assistant governor of the Bank of England) and our “esteemed” manager Martin O’Neill.
Martin was making his feelings known that “life in the slow lane” wasn’t for him.
Not long afterwards Martin left to spend time with his wife.
Now, however, Martin takes exception to the supporters objection to life in the very same, if not even slower, slow lane.
Our club is riddled with hypocrisy.
I am now sick to death of listening to O’Neill being a board stooge and Desmond’s puppet. He should just shut up. For him to side with the board must be purely financial as there can be no other reason for him to say what he has in the last few days. For me his reputation is now tarnished. Desmond et al will shaft him just like they did with Rodgers.
All true….
Joe i would really love to tell Martin the reason we won league last season was huns where piss poor and their cousins s**t themselves in Celtic Park it wasn’t some tactical master class from our coaching team that got us over the line, really getting sick of listening to Martin’s old jokes and his pressers are getting embarrassing
Yes, MON is not doing himself any favours:
he could decline to be the mouthpiece for everything around the club?
He could simply focus on talking about the players and the next upcoming fixture.
That’s all.
Everything else – from supporters’ frustrations / protests, recruitment, how the club operates, etc. –
could be clearly deferred to the media team and/or the Board.
Sorry Martin time to go Sir.