Martin O’Neill spoke to the mainstream media last night after Celtic lost a fourth successive match in European football, this time going down 2-1 to Celta Vigo at Celtic Park…
Martin O’Neill, Manager of Celtic, looks on before the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between Celtic FC and Celta Vigo at Celtic Park on October 22, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
It’s a result that leaves the Scottish Champions second bottom of the Europa League group table. Here’s what the Celtic manager had to say to the questions he was asked…
Q: In the Ferencvaros game, you were a bit frustrated you didn’t take the lead that night because you felt there might have been a better outcome. You got the lead tonight, where did it all go wrong after that?
Martin O’Neill: “Where did it all go wrong? Well, we hit the bar with the header, we could have gone 2-0 in front. I think if we had done that, we probably would have won. But forget ifs, buts and maybes, we conceded a goal from a set-piece. My own view was that I thought it was a foul for us 10 seconds before that, 6 seconds before that. But it may not have been, although I thought it was. We just lost a bit of momentum. We conceded the second goal, which was a blinding shot by the player outside the penalty area. Yeah, it was a tough evening, but I can’t ask for any more from the players.”
Kasper Hogh of Celtic looks dejected after the team’s defeat in the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between Celtic FC and Celta Vigo at Celtic Park on October 22, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Q: What’s the biggest frustration for you, sitting here off the back of a third defeat at the start of this campaign?
Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, well, that’s exactly right, it is one of frustration. Tonight is disappointing because I thought that we could win the game, I felt that beforehand, and while it was a tight match throughout, I still thought we could win.”
Q: You also said last week that you were confident that this team could still go through. Do you still feel that way?
Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, I haven’t looked at the table, but I was told, roughly, that there’s still a lot of points to play for. We have to obviously win a game at Celtic Park and we have to win away from home. I think we’re capable of doing that.”
Q: Martin, how big a frustration is it just now that you can perform so well and win so spectacularly at the weekend, but you’re not able to take it on in terms of Europe getting results this season?
Martin O’Neill: “Well, we haven’t done so. There’s no getting away from that, the games that we’ve had. I just get back to the point I said before, Benfica are a very fine side, but we’ve lost two home games against opposition that I think that we could compete against.”
Martin O’Neill, Manager of Celtic, reacts during the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between Celtic FC and Celta Vigo at Celtic Park on October 22, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Q: Do you feel there’s an issue with dealing with adversity when it does get tough, when they’ve equalised? You weren’t able to get back into the game?
Martin O’Neill: “I’m not sure about that. I’m really genuinely not sure about that. I’ll have to really look at it again. It was a blow to us because we were doing fine. We’ve taken the lead in the game. And there’s small margins. There really are small margins. You may well have a point, but I would have to look at that.”
Q: When you look at Celtic and Europe this season, is there a worry that maybe from the outside looking in that Celtic are not competitive enough or don’t seem to be competitive enough in this tournament?
Martin O’Neill: “Right, if by the end of proceedings, by the time, depending on the number of points that we may or may not get, that’s certainly open to debate.”
Q: How confident, Martin, are you that this squad is well equipped enough to get to that point?
Martin O’Neill: “It’s a good point you make. It is tough for us. There are some fine sides playing in European football. But tonight I thought we competed strongly. I take your point about the fact that when we conceded, we might have just lost that bit of momentum for it. But it was still a really tight game. Genuinely tight. We can learn. We’ve got some players here who have maybe not as much European experience as you would want. These games are tough, home or away.”
Javi Rueda and Javi Rodriguez of Celta Vigo celebrate after the team’s victory in the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between Celtic FC and Real Club Celta at Celtic Park on October 22, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Q: Is that the frustration for you in that if you had those players at your disposal who maybe had that European experience or maybe were up to a wee bit more of a level, would we be sitting here having a different conversation?
Martin O’Neill: “I wouldn’t go down that path at this minute. We have what we have. We have to try and compete. I thought tonight we did. There were moments I knew that we wouldn’t have the ball. They’re a very fine footballing team. No question about that. But there were moments that we caused them problems ourselves. I felt myself, that had we got the second goal in the game, Scales’ header hits the bar, that we probably would have gone on to win. But you’re right. I shouldn’t be saying ifs, buts and maybes. That didn’t happen in the game. We lost. And yeah, I’m naturally disappointed at the result. We need to try and get some points on the board.”
Kieran Tierney of Celtic looks dejected after the team’s defeat in the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between Celtic FC and Celta Vigo at Celtic Park on October 22, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Q: What’s your message to supporters? Because I suppose at this point it maybe could be easy for a bit of apathy to set in in this European campaign. You saw how many left before the end tonight. Is that a worry?
Martin O’Neill: “Well, I’m not checking that part of it. So I don’t genuinely know. But of course the supporters will be frustrated as well too because you want to try and do your best in European football because that’s what you strive for. This is the whole point. You spend the whole domestic season trying to get into European football and you want to do your best. You want to do your best for the team and you want to do the best for the club.”
Q: Martin, you said in your first answer that you can’t ask any more from the players. Why do you think you’re not winning these games then? Can they do any more?
Martin O’Neill: “I can’t ask any more from the players, but that doesn’t mean that we can just… Just because I’ve asked a lot of the players and they give a lot it might mean that something else might happen in the game. A team might score a goal against us as the boys pointed out. Then you could lose momentum from that. Probably we did. We maybe could have cleared it twice. I haven’t really seen them back. But we maybe could have cleared it twice beforehand. The boy comes in and puts a really great goal into the net. That’s what we’re talking about tonight. I still believe that there are still plenty of points to play for. But we need to get a move on.”
Callum Osmand of Celtic is challenged by Javi Rodriguez of Real Club Celta during the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD3 match between Celtic FC and Celta Vigo at Celtic Park on October 22, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Q: How’s Callum Osmand? Is he a concern? Was he cramping?
Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, he was cramping. That’s totally understandable. Really understandable from his viewpoint. That’s fine. He’s had very little football. He’s been injured basically since the start of the season. He’s coming round. He’s done really well for us. Each time he was moving in the last three or four minutes he was just cramping.”
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