Celtic boss Martin O’Neill’s take on Bodø/Glimt’s Champions League success is wrong | OneFootball

I’m sure I’m not the only Celtic fan who feels slightly strange today knowing that we have a big European game this evening but feeling totally apathetic about it…

19.02.2026 Celtic v Stuttgart, UEFA Europa League Knockout Round Play-Off 1st leg.Back row (L-R) Benjamin Nygren, Tomas Cvancara, Auston Trusty, Liam Scales, Paulo Bernardo, Kasper Schmeichel. Front row (L-R) Sebastian Tounekti, Julian Araujo, Daizen Maeda, Callum McGregor, Kieran Tierney Photo Kenny Ramsay IMAGO

The only thing I want tonight is for us not to get embarrassed and leave without any additional injuries, surely that’s not too much to ask?

VfB Stuttgart team photo at Celtic Park ahead of the UEFA Europa League 2025/26  Play-off First Leg match between Celtic FC and VfB Stuttgart at Celtic Park on February 19, 2026. (Photo by WM Sport Media/Getty Images)

We have seen some great comebacks in the Champions League this week but unfortunately this Celtic team isn’t anyway near good enough to get back into this tie, especially as I believe Martin O’Neill will give a few of our squad players a run out tonight, giving a must needed rest to some of our more important players.

Talking about our manager, the reason I’m writing this article is to question something he discussed yesterday during his media duties, something I totally disagree with.

Bodo/Glimt players pose for a team photograph prior to the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and FK Bodo/Glimt at Stadio San Siro on February 24, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

It was his response to a question about Bodø/Glimt progressing past last season’s Champions League finalists Inter Milan and whether that perhaps disproves the theory that Scottish clubs can’t compete at that level against teams from the richer leagues. The manager disagreed and put it down to an exception that proves the rule.

Fair enough but it was other parts of his answer that confused me. Firstly he seemed to claim that the fact the Norwegians play on an artificial surface gave them a big advantage against other teams. Results over previous seasons certainly prove they get some fantastic results at home.

A detailed view of half and half FC Internazionale Milano, Bodo/Glimt scarves for sale outside the stadium prior to the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and FK Bodo/Glimt at Stadio San Siro on February 24, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

The thing is however that they also beat Inter Milan away, they beat Atletico Madrid away and they drew with both Borussia Dortmund and Slavia Prague away, all in this year’s competition. What a team like Celtic would give for results like that on the road in the Champions League.

He also mentioned the fact that they had very little possession in that away tie against Inter. He’s right, 29% in total. What he didn’t mention however was that their expected goals (xG) was 1.74. They had slightly less shots on goal than Inter but carved out more ‘big chances’. As we are learning the hard way this season, possession doesn’t win you games. Also not one of us cared about our ridiculously low possession the night we slayed Barcelona, the result was all that mattered, as it always should do.

Jostein Gundersen and Odin Bjortuft of Bodo/Glimt celebrate following the team’s victory in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and FK Bodo/Glimt at Stadio San Siro on February 24, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

He praises them saying they have ‘great heart, great determination and a couple of players who can definitely play’. It’s more than that. It’s way more than that Martin. What they have is a club that is run correctly from top to bottom.

They don’t leave any stone unturned. They have a successful academy bringing through players. Their recruitment is data driven, using their own AI platform ‘fokus’ to identify players to suit their high intensity system. They use a unique phycological framework established by mental coach and former fighter pilot Bjorn Mannsverk that focuses on their performance. They have a coach who knows how to set up a team of underdogs in European competition in a way that is capable of topping the elite sides.

Basically what I am saying is that it’s more than an artificial pitch and a bit of luck.

Bodo/Glimt players celebrate in front of the fans following the team’s victory in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and FK Bodo/Glimt at Stadio San Siro on February 24, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

They have set the blueprint for what a club like Celtic should be aspiring to be. They are a club who thinks and acts progressively. They aren’t stuck hoping a system that worked 15-20 years ago can still work today. They have an identity, they are proud of it and everything they do works around that.

Kjetil Knutsen, Head Coach of Bodo/Glimt, looks on during the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and FK Bodo/Glimt at Stadio San Siro on February 24, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Their manager is highly regarded but if he left tomorrow I don’t think the whole club would collapse, instead they would seek out another manager who fits their system. They have proved capable of this when multiple ‘star’ players have departed in the past.

No matter how this season pans out, this summer is going to be one of the most important in our clubs history. Things have to change, and change drastically. We have to modernise or we will be left behind. There are multiple examples of big clubs all over Europe who have failed to move with the times and have found themselves left out in the wilderness, thinking back at how great they once were while asking where it all went wrong.

Bodo/Glimt players celebrate in front of the fans following the team’s victory in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and FK Bodo/Glimt at Stadio San Siro on February 24, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

It’s imperative Celtic don’t become one of those clubs. Unlike many of those clubs, Celtic have sturdy foundations to work from, they have a loyal fan base and they have money in the bank. They have no excuse not to modernise. There is absolutely nothing stopping them, apart from their own fear of change.

If they need inspiration they only have to look towards the Arctic Circle and a small club who are showing all clubs outside the ‘top 5’ European Leagues how it’s done.

Bodo/Glimt players celebrate in front of the fans following the team’s victory in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and FK Bodo/Glimt at Stadio San Siro on February 24, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Here’s the question and Martin O’Neill’s response that I am referring to…

Q: You spoke about the disparity financially between Scottish clubs and some of the big European nations. Does what Bodo/Glimt did to Inter over the two legs in the Champions League give you hope that that could potentially be rebalanced, if you like?

Martin O’Neill:  “I think there’s always an exception that proves the rule, like anything else. Those are terrific efforts by them, and they’ve shown it in European football. They have a massive advantage, first of all, in home legs, because they play on an artificial surface for a start. But then they travel to Inter and win the game. I don’t know what the stat was. I think somebody mentioned it coming off the plane, but it was a very, very small possession, so they’ve taken everything. It was a fantastic effort. It’s a major shock.

“Inter Milan were contesting the Champions League final last year, so this is terrific, and that does give everybody a little bit of hope. Will they go on to win the competition? Well, if you get opportunities to play on an artificial surface, it does help. Let’s be fair about it. Those teams that play on those surfaces, both domestically and at home, do have an advantage because they play there the whole time. But is that all? No, not at all. They have shown great heart, great determination, and they’ve got a couple of players who can definitely play. That does give great hope, if that’s the case. But again, it would be more the exception that proves the rule rather than anything else, in my view.’

Bodo/Glimt players celebrate in front of the fans following the team’s victory in the UEFA Champions League 2025/26 League Knockout Play-off Second Leg match between FC Internazionale Milano and FK Bodo/Glimt at Stadio San Siro on February 24, 2026 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Marco Luzzani/Getty Images)

Conall McGinty

Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr. Click on image to order

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