Martin O'Neill's standing at Celtic was never in doubt. He salvaged a league title and a Scottish Cup from a season that looked like it was heading somewhere much worse, and long before that he took the club to within a whisker of the Uefa Cup against a Porto side managed by Jose Mourinho. On Sunday night at Celtic Park, after a second defeat by Rangers inside a week, he raised the possibility of walking away himself.
"I genuinely will reflect and see," the 74-year-old said. "It's a matter of whether I can help the team. The manager is supposed to be able to do that. I will look at that this week." Then came the line that will be replayed all fortnight. "I think every single time something crops up and things don't go so well, age plays a part. And, do you know what, they might be right. I'll be 110 in two years' time so it might be time to wrap it up."
Three bad results in seven days
The joke was there, but so was the tiredness. Celtic lost at home to Ferencvaros in Europe between the two Rangers defeats, and the league derby at Celtic Park was the worst of the three. O'Neill went without wingers entirely, fielded five defenders and pushed Kieran Tierney higher up the pitch. None of it worked.
Rewind to August and Celtic were 4-0 up on aggregate against LASK half an hour into the second leg of their Champions League play-off. They went out of the competition anyway. Four league wins followed, three of them by a single goal against Falkirk, St Mirren and St Johnstone, and none of them convincing. The moment real pressure arrived, three times in a week, the team folded each time.
Sutton and Lennon disagree on the fix
Chris Sutton played under O'Neill in his first spell and was not gentle about what he watched. "It wasn't a close game," he said on Sky Sports. "There was a massive gulf. I can't remember a Celtic team getting such a doing from a Rangers team at Celtic Park. Rangers were a team and Celtic weren't. They knew their next pass and Celtic didn't."
His diagnosis was physical as much as tactical. "They've lacked legs and physicality in the middle of the park. This has been a big issue all season. Callum McGregor's another year older, can't get about the pitch like he used to." He still backed the manager to find a way. Neil Lennon, who has sat in the same chair, said much the same. "He's hurting, he's smarting about it. The break's come at a good time for him. He still feels he's got the energy to do it."
Questions about the summer window
Part of the frustration among supporters is about recruitment rather than the manager. James McFadden put it bluntly on Sky Sports: "They haven't actually added to the squad in terms of numbers or real quality. They've just replaced what left." O'Neill has tried to build the side around big-money signings Camilo Duran and Kasper Hogh without finding a shape that suits either, and he has rotated through midfield combinations looking for something that holds.
Celtic are still top of the Premiership, which is the strange part. O'Neill could walk now with his legacy intact and the league lead in hand. He said he would speak to the board, get a couple of days away, and see. Whether the board wants that conversation as much as he does is the thing to watch over the international break.
Context: Celtic 0-1 Rangers, Celtic Park, Sunday 20 September 2026, a second derby defeat in a week and a third damaging loss in seven days after a home European defeat by Ferencvaros. Martin O'Neill, 74, returned to Celtic last season and won the Scottish Premiership and Scottish Cup. Celtic remain top of the Premiership.
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