Celtic have had three different managers this season with one being in role on two different occasions…
They have played the majority of their games with a goalkeeper carrying a shoulder injury, which only now has been properly assessed and diagnosed and will probably mean that the player’s career is now over.
The club’s bosses has fallen out with the Celtic Supporters and the most vocal group on match-days has been banned for much of the season as indeed has the Celtic fan media who are no longer permitted to attend media conferences lest they ask awkward questions.
In the transfer market, Celtic’s hitherto successful strategy has stalled as the decision making and the failure to get deals over the line has cost the club dearly. Instead of bringing in the likes of Matt O’Riley for £1.5m and selling for £25M a few years later, or Nicolas Kuhn for £3m before flipping him over for £17.5m the Celtic Board, lead by CEO Michael Nicholson is now bringing in the likes of £5.5m signing Michel-Ange Balikwisha on a five-year deal in August 2025 with the former Royal Antwerp winger unable to make any sort of impact under all three Celtic managers.
Football however is a results business and under Martin O’Neill – for the second time this season – Celtic latest results indicate that despite all the setbacks, dramas and self-inflicted blows at the football club – the veteran boss might just lead Celtic to the most unlikely Scottish Premiership title win of all time.
Shaun Maloney, Martin O’Neill’s able assistant across both interim spells in charge this season, this week told Premier Sports presenter Darrell Currie that he reckons if Celtic do go onto win the title it should be regarded as the best ever in the club’s incredibly successful unbroken history.
The season started with Celtic under the guidance of elite-manager Brendan Rodgers who had won 11 from 13 domestic trophies across his two spells as Celtic manager. He returned to the club in June 2023 after Ange Postecoglou left for Tottenham after guiding Celtic to five trophies from six in his two seasons at the club.
Rodgers wanted to restore Celtic’s reputation as a competitive force in European football and gave Bayern Munich a massive fright in the Champions League play-offs in February 2025. That should have whetted Celtic’s appetite for more but instead the Celtic Board decided against backing Rodgers in the transfer window and unbelievably failed to replace talisman Kyogo for an entire year leaving the club without a goalscoring centre-forward.
Brendan Rodgers resigned at the end of October 2025 to be replaced by Martin O’Neill who had won three titles over five seasons between 2000-05. He steadied the ship before handing over the reins to Wilfried Nancy, the Board’s first choice candidate to replace Rodgers.
The French coach from MLS side Columbus Crew lasted just 33 days in the Parkhead hotseat. His Celtic stats were dreadful, losing seven games from nine including a League Cup Final and a Glasgow Derby at Celtic Park against fierce city rivals the Rangers.
That was that for Nancy at Celtic and once again Dermot Desmond, Celtic’s controlling share-holder, had to reach out Martin O’Neill to come back to save our season with the club in danger of finishing fourth behind Hearts, the Rangers and Motherwell.
O’Neill has indeed saved Celtic’s season and with just eight league matches remaining Celtic sit just two points behind leaders Hearts and a point better off than the Rangers. Crucially both of Celtic’s title rivals have to visit Celtic Park.
O’Neill’s Celtic side faced Motherwell at Celtic Park on Saturday and a 3-1 victory effectively ended the Fir Park’s side’s dream of turning the three team race for the title into four. And in the coming weeks Celtic’s other two title rivals could face a similar fate to Motherwell at the hands of Celtic’s legendary manager Martin O’Neill.
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