FC Midtjylland 3-1 Celtic – Martin O’Neill’s post match media conference

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The Celtic Star

·7 November 2025

FC Midtjylland 3-1 Celtic – Martin O’Neill’s post match media conference

Martin O’Neill spoke to the media following Celtic’s emphatic 3-1 defeat to FC Midtjylland in Herning last night. Here’s everything that the interim Celtic manager had to say to the media…

Martin O’Neill interim manager of Celtic reacts Midtjylland vs Celtic, UEFA Europa League, Group Stage, Football, MCH Arena, Herning, Denmark – 06 November 2025. Photo Michael Zemanek Shutterstock/IMAGO

Q: Can you sum up your thoughts on that, Martin?

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Martin O’Neill: “It was a tough evening, there’s no question about it. We were in the game for half an hour, we conceded two goals within a minute or 90 seconds of each other and the game goes away from you very, very quickly. They score a third after seven minutes and it’s a long way back. In terms of European football, they’re a very fine side, there’s no question about it. They’re strong, physically very, very strong. It was something that I knew anyway because I’d seen them a couple of weeks ago. It was a bit disappointing, but I thought that we showed the character in the second half. We could have gone under, it could have been any sort of score but the players, I thought, pulled themselves together, pulled it round a bit and showed some character.”

FC Midtjylland v Celtic- The teams line up. Photo The Celtic Star

Q: Yesterday you spoke about the physicality of Midtjylland, so you were aware of that. From that point of view then, how disappointing and frustrating was it in the manner to concede the goals?

Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, the goals that we conceded weren’t good but eventually that hadn’t really much to do with physicality or certainly to the goals in the sense that we left 1 v 1. I think in terms of defending, I’ve just said to the players in there, some things change in the game, other things don’t change and once a player starts to take you on, let’s say a winger takes you on at full-back, you’ve got to stop him from getting into the penalty area and you have to engage him before he gets there because once he gets in there, then he’s as safe as anything. It’s a safe place for him because the minute then you might put your foot in, you could give away a penalty. Attackers, that’s the one thing they want to do, 1 v 1s, they want to get at the players and they want to get into that penalty area as quickly as possible. So we didn’t do that very well. Then in the second goal, we had a 2 v 2 situation and we allowed the players just to come inside and then into the net. So from our viewpoint, not good defending.”

FC Midtjylland v Celtic- The Celtic support. Photo The Celtic Star

Q: Where does it leave you now in terms of the league table, the league group?

Martin O’Neill:“Right, okay, well, I suppose I probably always thought this here that 10 points would probably get you, so we’re not out of it. That’s a big lesson for us to know, to know what it takes to be a really decent European team. Midtjylland have shown that and they have good experience in the side, they’ve got really good players and they have that thing that is necessary, a bit of physicality.”

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Callum Osmand of Celtic is injured Midtjylland vs Celtic, UEFA Europa League, Group Stage, Football, MCH Arena, Herning, Denmark – 06 Nov 2025Herning MCH Arena Denmark: Photo Michael Zemane. IMAGO/Shutterstock

Q: Just a final one from me, Callum Osmand comes off, he looks absolutely distraught. Can you explain what happened?

Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, he’s pulled the hamstring and that’s something that obviously, he’s very young, it’s never happened to him before, so he doesn’t know and yeah, he was distraught because I think the reason being he was just trying to get his career going. But if everything looks out well, he’ll recover from that and then start again. That’s what I’ve said to him, don’t do this. You will certainly get going, this is just a setback for you but it’s not terminal in that sense and you can fight back, you’ll be out for X number of weeks now. It is a shame because he was trying to make an impression but that’s it.”

Q: Martin, the club seem to be really struggling in terms of injuries at the moment, they just keep piling up, especially these hamstring ones. Do you feel that you’re going to be really light in the forward areas now over the next few weeks?

Martin O’Neill: “We definitely have a bit of a problem with it but that’s the nature, somebody has to step up and that’s the name of the game. So we just have to find a way. I thought that on reflection, I thought that Sunday, definitely, in terms of emotion of the game, the big match itself, I thought that it definitely took a lot out of us and I thought that we became a bit leggy. The irony of it all is that we fought back in the second half where we thought that’s where we might have gone under but we showed that resilience which hopefully stands us in good stead. But Sunday comes very quickly for us now and it’s just a matter of really trying to regroup.”

Martin O’Neill interim manager of Celtic Midtjylland vs Celtic, UEFA Europa League, Group Stage, Football, MCH Arena, Herning, Denmark – 06 November 2025Herning MCH Arena Denmark Photo Michael Zemanek Shutterstock IMAGO

Q: Just in terms of that, obviously it’s been such a great week for the club and the fans since your return with the two wins, do you feel that tonight was just a bit of a reminder that the club feels to have some way to go to get back to where they want to be?

Martin O’Neill: “Oh of course, absolutely. I couldn’t agree more, you’re right. This is, European football is where this club, because of the great Jock Stein, has been a priority, but tonight there, it can show you. We have to get to that stage again. We have to improve.”

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Q: Martin, were you surprised at some aspects of that tonight? You talked about the lesson that was offered. Were you surprised by some of it?

Martin O’Neill: “We conceded the two goals within a minute and then three in seven minutes. So by the time that we moved forward, we were 2-0 down and away from home, we were against a really decent side, I keep saying that, but they are. That was difficult. The third goal, you know, almost puts it beyond you, you know. So, was I surprised? I don’t know whether I was surprised, disappointed, just disappointed in the concession of the goals.”

Celtic stating xI – team photo Midtjylland vs Celtic, UEFA Europa League, Group Stage, Football, MCH Arena, Herning, Denmark – 06 Nov 2025Herning MCH Arena Denmark Photo Michael ZemanekShutterstock

Q: Is that a mentality thing as much as an ability thing, Martin? You know, it’s the first goal, you’ve got to hang in the game?

Martin O’Neill: “You’re spot on, you’re absolutely spot on, you’ve got to hang in, that’s really it, that’s it. Until you have to regroup, whatever you do, you don’t concede a second goal and yeah, it came as a bit of a shock, but I couldn’t agree more with you. It’s something that you have to do. I think just to play football at the top level, not only do you need ability, but you need mentality, and mentality sometimes overrides ability as well. I’ve seen players with lesser talent but more drive and more determination come through and players who have the talent but don’t have that mentality fall by the wayside.”

Q: You don’t know what’s going to happen long term or short term or whatever but is that something you’ll be driving into them, that very message that you’ve just given them?

Martin O’Neill: “Do you know what, it sounds from here as if I’m like a teacher to them but I will try and teach them the game as quickly as possible. Things that they may already know, maybe need reminding, maybe they don’t know, maybe it’s part of my job to do that. Well, it’s not part of it, it is my job to try and improve the football club. Yeah, it was tough tonight, really tough tonight, and I’ll take nothing away from that.”

6.11.2025 HERNING PILKA NOZNA LIGA EUROPY UEFA SEZON 2025/2026 FOOTBALL UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE FC MIDTJYLLAND – CELTIC GLASGOW N/Z ARNE ENGELS JAMES FORREST MIKEL GOGORZA FOT. KAROL POLIT/NEWSPIX.PL — newspix.pl

Q: Arne Engels, is he okay?

Martin O’Neill: “I think he was feeling his hamstring as well, so the games are coming thick and fast for us, playing European football, so we just have to dust ourselves down, and get ourselves prepared mentally I should say and physically for Sunday.”

Here’s Martin’s post-match interview with TNT Sports…

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