Advantage Celtic after dramatic week in Scottish Premiership title race | OneFootball

Well that as a dramatic day to end a week where Celtic collected six points from our two matches with another two late, last seconds winners, theRangers collected four points and Hearts three. That’s just about as good as we could have hoped for and with the ecstasy of yet another 97th minute goal and the scenes at Rugby Park it’s Celtic who have gained the most in a three horse title race.

Julian Araujo celebrates at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock 2 Celtic 3. Scottish Premiership. Sunday 15 February 2026. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Hearts now are top on 57 points having played 27 matches, theRangers are two points behind with 55 points, also having played 57 games while Celtic are on 54 points with a game in hand having played 26 matches. That game in hand is against Aberdeen at Pittodrie which will be played early next month.

Here’s what Martin O’Neill had to say about Celtic fightback at Rugby Park to turn around a 2-0 half time deficit to win 3-2 thanks to goals from Sebastian Tounekti, Benjamin Nygren and Julian Araujo….

Martin O’Neill, Media Conference at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock 2 Celtic 3. Scottish Premiership. Sunday 15 February 2026. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Martin, what does that tell you about your team, the way you won that at the end?

Martin O’Neill: “Well, I think that I’ve just said in an interview there, that 20 odd years ago, I managed a really fine team, who had loads of spirit, loads of determination, all saw it to the end. There were many traits here about this side, they’ve shown fantastic character, really from a poor first half, from our viewpoint, strong Kilmarnock, 2-0 down at halftime, and they never gave up.”

Sebastian Tounekti celebrates at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock 2 Celtic 3. Scottish Premiership. Sunday 15 February 2026. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Managers have to take the credit sometimes when you make changes, what was your thinking behind that?

Martin O’Neill: “Well the change, well, could we have made seven changes at the time? Sebastian Tounekti comes on, scores a great goal, gives us a little bit of width, he’s going to take people on, on that side. I had thought about maybe starting Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, I’m not sure in terms of fitness and things I guess here, he’s come on, he’s just a class player, an absolutely class player. Big Tomas Cvancara comes on, what a turn for the final goal, so it was great to see them making big impacts in the second half.”

Julian Araujo celebrates at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock 2 Celtic 3. Scottish Premiership. Sunday 15 February 2026. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Will you be paying particular attention to trying to avoid always having to come off the ropes, is that something that’s worrying you, or are you just happy to keep riding them?

Martin O’Neill:  “No, it’s both worrying me and, well, it’s not great for my health. Overall, if that’s the way you have to win the games, you have to win them like that, but I agree, you just can’t keep doing that.”

Benjamin Nygren celebrates at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock 2 Celtic 3. Scottish Premiership. Sunday 15 February 2026. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: What does it say about a team, Martin, that repeatedly comes up as last minute winners?

Martin O’Neill:  “Sometimes I wonder how they got themselves into this position in the first place. You can throw all the usual accolades around, but they deserve them today because even at half time, when we were so, from my viewpoint, I thought we were poor, I thought that there was still that feeling that we could turn it around if we could get a relatively early goal in the second half, and that’s what happened, so getting back to your point, it’s great to see it.”

Martin O’Neill arrives at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock 2 Celtic 3. Scottish Premiership. Sunday 15 February 2026. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: 300 games in charge of Celtic, where does that one rank for you?

Martin O’Neill:  “Obviously, unbelievably satisfying to win, there’s no question about it, and to win in the manner in which we did at the end was terrific. Well, there’s one thing I’ll absolutely guarantee you, I’ll not see another 300 games, that I’ll guarantee you, I will be watching from down there.”

Q: You’ve mentioned the fact that there’s not much margin of error for you in the last few weeks and continuing, but does this then feel like, that’s three games in a week, you’ve got the last minute goals, does it feel huge in terms of the overall picture?

Martin O’Neill:  “I don’t know about the overall picture, I don’t know about that. I still think, this is the point about it, if we had dropped all those points we’d have been well out of it, so and even now, with this, regardless of what happens today at Ibrox, we’re still chasing. We’ve been chasing now for, well since I’ve been back, since both spells really, so we’ve been chasing and I don’t know what else to say to you.”

Q: Does it also mean that performances are going to have to be improved, because you’re in a spell now that’s really tough, and you maybe had these results in the last few weeks, but at some point that can catch up with you doesn’t it?

Martin O’Neill:  “Of course, of course. Well everything will catch up with you because we’re going into a very, this is the start of a very, very hectic period for us now, you know, Europa League games against a team that’s like fourth in the Bundesliga or something like this here. Maybe we should just treat it as a day out, as much as anything else!

“I just did an interview there where my old manager Brian Clough used to think of cup games as a distraction almost, and then I don’t think he thought that after he won a couple of European Cups, but anyway, I know it’s a hectic period, we’ve won today, I totally agree with all of you to say that we’ve got to put the two halves together really at the end of the day.”

Q: Martin, you spoke really highly of Julian Araujo during the week in an interview, how pleased are you for him to make that type of impact?

Martin O’Neill:  “Right, there were periods in the first half where I would have retracted what I said, you know, but he did great. For him to arrive there in the box at that time, I’m still having to, I haven’t seen it back first time, but some of the lads are telling me he still had to put it into the net, so well done him, he made up for some of his first half recklessness.”

Q: Martin, you mentioned your health, do you feel drained after this week?

Martin O’Neill:  “I do, yeah, yeah. Do I look it? I look dreadful. Really draining, it is honestly. So you live every moment for it, you know. Some of these lads, my coaching staff, I look around, they’re much, much younger than me and I think they can take the strain, but not for me.”

Q: When the board went up with seven minutes, did you sense that you had time to go and get a winner, did you sense it might have been coming?

Martin O’Neill:  “Right, well there’s two things to it. One, obviously, Kilmarnock, I thought that it’s always a danger, if you’ve pushed everyone forward in an attempt to get it, you might get done. So there was a wee bit of concern about that, but you have to go for it, you know, you just have to. And so when they put seven minutes up, yeah I did, I thought we’ve got a chance.”

Benjamin Nygren scores Celtic’s second goal at Rugby Park, Kilmarnock 2 Celtic 3. Scottish Premiership. Sunday 15 February 2026. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Regardless of what happens at Ibrox later, you gain ground on Rangers or both, maybe Rangers and Hearts, does that make this win all the more crucial?

Martin O’Neill:  “I think every match now is really crucial. In terms of what it does by the end of the day, I don’t know, but we just got to keep going.

Q: Did you have any better prognosis on Arne Engels?

Martin O’Neill:  “He’ll be out to the international window. I don’t think, unless he does really, really well in recovery, I can’t see us having him before that finishes, which would be the end of March.

Q: Hamstring?

Martin O’Neill:  “It’s his thigh, which is every bit as bad in that sense.”

Q: It’s a big loss for a tough period, isn’t it?

Martin O’Neill:  “It’s a big loss for us, absolutely. That’s why getting Alex in has been so crucial for us. He was class.”

Q: We just touched on it, does that mean, talking about Europe, do you have to prioritise now at some point, or is that against your nature?

Martin O’Neill:  “Right, well obviously it’s against my nature, but I think that, what I didn’t want, you know, I suppose after beating Feyenoord I thought that was the end for me anyway, in terms of games, of European matches. But when we came back and then getting a result in Bologna, I just didn’t want it to go to waste for the effort that the team had put in. So, we followed up, we beat Utrecht, then it gets you in.

“But that’s, the competition is like, if I want to be really honest about it, there’s some big, big teams with, still in that competition, and it’s a long way from home as well. Home meaning a long way to go. Even if you went through against Stuttgart, who are in the Bundesliga, you’re still talking about into the last 16. That seems like miles away.

“So this is like the last 24. If it was a bit closer, you know, then you can think about it. It’s just, we’ll see what the energy’s like. But having said this, I wouldn’t want to give it up, just wouldn’t want to, you know, you’d like to, but the coefficient eventually might help Scotland at some stage, you know. Long after I’m gone! ”

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