It has been a Scottish Premiership season like no other with the Hoops' battling to the end for glory
It has been a Scottish Premiership season like no other with the Hoops' battling to the end for gloryNow that’s all over it feels like we’ve been put through a 10-month psychedelic experiment.
More magic mushrooms than Magic Martin.to Dermot Desmond. Honda Civics, head-shot statements, Russell Martin, sweaty armpits, Martin O’Neill and his baggy tracksuit. The Wilfried Nancy, Connect Four fever dream. Tony Bloom’s 10-year plan and Del the Disruptor.
The return of the DeLorean. A 73-year-old man turning 74. VAR. Police protection, pitch invasions.
PTSD. Let’s be honest, season 2025/26 has been clinically insane. Because what O’Neill has achieved – and what he will most probably cement with a league and cup Double at Hampden this weekend – will go down in the history books as the stuff of legend. And rightly so.
That it ended in shambolic scenes and in bitter acrimony on Saturday will remain a crying shame. O’Neill didn’t deserve the end to be so vulgar and so unsavoury. In fact, he reluctantly embarked on a lap of honour when it was finally done and dusted even though, inside, he must have been bursting with pride and an immense sense of satisfaction over a job well done. Self-depreciation has been his thing throughout.
Even when it was over and as Celtic’s players celebrated amidst the ticker-tape bazookas, O’Neill was busy playing down his own significance in it all,“I’m a bit part of the proceedings,” he said when shoved out in front of Sky Sports’ cameras at one end of the Parkhead pitch. Yes, Celtic might have made a habit of winning this particular title. This was their 14th league crown in 15 years.
But O’Neill’s contribution over two separate stints on the frontline in the dugout, has been nothing less than colossal. And in his moment of triumph it was perfectly typical that Magic Martin was more like Magnanimous Martin. And, while he might well have been correct, he was also very deliberately underplaying the humongous scale of his own personal narrative.
O’Neill won all five of his league games while he was holding the fort for the first time between Rodgers and Nancy. In his second spell in charge he took full points from 14 of his 18 games, drawing two more and losing two. All of which means, from a total of 23 top-flight games, O’Neill delivered 59 of the 82 points which carried Celtic to the title.
More impressive still, he secured more than 85 per cent of the points available to him over the course of the Premiership campaign.was a paltry 33 per cent. Rodgers, for his part, won four of his nine league games at the beginning of the season, His points return weighs in at less than 56 per cent. These numbers alone illustrate the enormous scale of O’Neill’s achievement. He has been anything but a ‘bit part in the proceedings’.
Although impressive in nature, the stats don’t come close to explaining his importance during what has been the most turbulent 10 months in Celtic’s recent history. Celtic manager Martin O'Neill and Callum McGregor with the Scottish Premier League Trophy following their title deciding match against Heart of Midlothian at Celtic Park. O’Neill’s calming presence on the ground helped to prevent a mutinous support from going over the top on a board which has pushed their patience to the limits.
That uneasy truce will be revisited over the coming weeks and Celtic’s approach to the summer transfer market could determine whether or not this full-scale revolt has merely been placed on hold. But these supporters were prepared to put it all to one side while O’Neill was fronting up their team from the sidelines. It’s difficult to imagine them doing so for any other manager.
O’Neill also somehow got into the heads of a group of players who, at various points, looked lost, bewildered and disengaged under Rodgers and Nancy. When Rodgers compared them to a Honda Civic after a defeat away to Dundee, it was the start of the end for the Northern Irishman.
And when Nancy pulled out his tactics board for the first time during a home loss to Hearts, the look of utter confusion on the face of captain Callum McGregor spoke volumes. Celtic entered into a month of self-destruction before Nancy was finally removed from the premises, having dropped 12 league points along the way.
That O’Neill was somehow able to walk back into this out and out chaos and almost instantly make it make sense, bears testament to his vast experience and to his ability to manage men. That he was let down quite spectacularly by his own board during the January transfer window was close to unforgivable. Junior Adamu, Joel Mvuka and Benjamin Arthur were tossed into Lennoxtown like afterthoughts on deadline day.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain followed as a free agent after the window had closed. Julian Araujo was also recruited on loan from Bournemouth as well as Tomas Cvancara from Monchengladbach. That not one of them played any part in Saturday’s title decider, albeit for a variety of reasons, perfectly sums up Celtic’s calamitous, scattergun recruitment policy.
It was, after all, widely accepted at the time that the comings and goings in the January market would prove to be critical to the outcome of what was at that stage, a three- way tussle for domestic supremacy. O’Neill came out of it with both hands tied behind his back. And yet, on the final day of the season, he prevailed regardless.
Given what has gone on over these last 10 months, what happens next is almost impossible to predict with any kind of certainty. O’Neill could pull off the ultimate mic drop at Hampden this weekend, when he faces former captain Neil Lennon with the Scottish Cup up for grabs.
Please follow us on Google to support us Honda Neil Lennon Brendan Rodgers Martin O'neill Scottish Premiership Dermot Desmond Russell Martin Hearts FC Celtic FC Rangers FC
United Kingdom Latest News, United Kingdom Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Chris Sutton Blasts Simon Jordan after ‘Embarrassing’ Take on Celtic’s Scottish Premiership Title VictoryCeltic won the Scottish Premiership title as they beat Hearts 3-1. However, their victory did not come without criticism, with Chris Sutton hitting back.
Read more »
No Celtic future before Scottish Cup final, says Martin O'Neill after Premiership title winMartin O'Neill does not expect discussion about the future of the Celtic manager's position before Saturday's Scottish Cup final but doubts he would 'have the energy' to continue.
Read more »
Celtic Park pitch invasion: Martin O'Neill says Hearts' claim scenes 'embarrassed Scottish football' are 'nonsense'Hearts said players and staff reported serious physical and verbal abuse after Celtic fans celebrated their title win on the pitch; Celtic apologised to Hearts and said they would cooperate with any investigation; Martin ONeill refused to criticise fans and disagreed with...
Read more »
'Scottish football is a laughing stock after Celtic Park pitch invasion'A pitch invasion by Celtic fans on Saturday resulted in the match being called to a halt with about a minute left to play.
Read more »