21st September 2025; Firhill Stadium, Glasgow, Scotland; Scottish League Cup Football, Partick Thistle v Celtic; Cameron Carter-Vickers of Celtic on the ball
Sky Sports produced a fascinating interview with Martin O’Neill in their build up to Celtic’s win at Motherwell.
Luke Shanley was asking the questions in a rare one to one setting with the Celtic manager.
Celtic’s usual media activity is to have a dozen or so reporters from different outlets getting a question each, often on very different issues.
A sit down interview lasting 17 minutes allows for detailed questioning and follow-ups, a rarity in the media age.
In midweek O’Neill spoke to Celtic TV but that set up rarely provides the sort of detail that supporters want to hear.
After three successive defeats there was almost three weeks of silence from Celtic and O’Neill.
There seemed like unfinished business following the September 20 Glasgow Derby and aftermath.
O’Neill was in a different mindset, he spoke of needing time for self reflection.
Also on Sky Sports Cameron Carter-Vickers was quizzed on Celtic’s tactics and style of play.
O’Neill’s side started with no wingers and finished with three. James Forrest appeared to finish the match as a shadow striker, a position he has very rarely in ever played during 16 years at Celtic.
Carter-Vickers said:
We played a bit too random. We need to get better at that, getting a script and sticking to it.
Those comments seemed to jar O’Neill.
He claimed that he wasn’t aware of them until four or five days after the match.
On Friday O’Neill stated that his instructions were clear for anyone who could understand English.
Sunday’s exchange made for interesting viewing as Shanley returned to that issue after O’Neill explained away comments from Callum McGregor.
CAMERON CARTER-VICKERS AND CALLUM MCGREGOR COMMENTS
In terms of Carter-Vickers comments, which I didn’t find out about until four of five days later I really don’t know but in terms of what Callum (McGregor) was saying, I think, yeah, I understood what he was saying because what we have at the football club, we have, for want of a better word, modus operandi in the sense of what we do.
We have got a high work ethic, really high work ethic and certain individuals last season drove that on immensely.
You are talking about Daizen Maeda, you are talking about people like that here at the club.
So new players coming in having to learn that, and having to learn it quickly, what this football club is all about.
You cannot afford to lose games. You cannot afford to lose 10 or 15 minutes unless you are three or four goals up with a minute to go, you cannot afford to drop.
And I think that was the point that Callum was making. And that’s something that as a unit, as a group of people, including coaches and manager it has to be addressed. I think, I think that was an important point.
Shanley then followed up with Carter-Vickers saying that ‘sometimes you need a script to stick to when the going gets tough’ Do you know exactly what he means there?
8 minutes 30 seconds
No, you keep telling me what Carter-Vickers has said. You know, I don’t accept that point at all.
And the reason that I don’t is because, we, last season, last season, in the most vital game of the season which we won, at home, we were behind against Hearts and we got an equaliser and then time is pressing.
Time is gone, we are pressing, we are pressing. We hit the post, we still can’t get a goal. And the last 20 minutes we have to go , you have to risk things.
So we went three at the back which we had never practiced before, and we won which is the point, we came off script to win the title.
Shanley then went on to ask about formations and tactics, again O’Neill was very defensive.
He used the phrase:
Players who have been at other football clubs might even have a fundamental difference in terms of the way that coaching has taken place, whatever the case may be. So they have to get used to that and we have to get used to them.
The formation that turned the title decider against Hearts can’t really be used as any sort of strategy or plan.
With 45 minutes left of the season Celtic had to dig out a win with Kelchi Iheanacho thrown on at half time.
Marcelo Saracchi played a key role in Daizen Maeda’s decisive goal. Iheanacho and Saracchi are playing elsewhere this season.
In the opening matches of this season O’Neill never returned to the 3-5-2 that delivered the SPFL title in such dramatic circumstances.
The League Cup defeat at Ibrox in the League Cup was match 10 of this season.
O’Neill reported that Carter-Vickers had suffered a strain when asked about the defender missing the match at Motherwell. Before Fir Park the former Spurs man had started all 12 matches of the season.
