Interim bosses Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney speak to the media

In partnership with

The Celtic Star

·28 October 2025

Interim bosses Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney speak to the media

Martin O’Neill arrived at Celtic Park after catching a flight from London to join Shaun Maloney at a 3pm Media Conference as the two interim managers were introduced to the media in their new and short term roles following the resignation of Brendan Rodgers yesterday and the extraordinary outburst from Dermot Desmond later in the evening…

Shaun Maloney and Martin O’Neill at Celtic Park on October 28, 2025 (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Unusually Celtic invited all the participating fan media sites and podcasts along – many have dropped out over the past few seasons. But those there today gave the fan media near enough parity with the mainstream media and you may agree that the questions from the fan media in the second half of the media conference were the equal if not better than those from the hacks.

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Conor Spence was there representing The Celtic Star. Here’s everything that was said together with the video of the conference and also some excellent media conference photography, which isn’t usually available.

Martin O’Neill arrives after the announcement that former Celtic Manager was returning to the club as interim manager, following yesterday’s surprise resignation of Brendan Rodgers, at Celtic Park on October 28, 2025 (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Q: Martin, how do you feel about being back?

Martin O’Neill: “I feel a wee bit breathless. I only heard about it less than 24 hours ago, so I’m really excited, I must admit – nervous excitement about it. Obviously, I want to try and do as well as I can. I’m looking forward to it, I think! It is a role at this moment in which they’re looking for a permanent manager. The events of the last 24 hours are quite stunning, and at this minute, I’ve been called in to do the job as interim manager, and that’s the way it will remain.”

Q: Could you tell us how this came about in the last 24 hours and what you have been told about what’s required from this management team at the moment?

Martin O’Neill: “I didn’t need to be told about what’s required for the management teams at this football club. I got a call, it must have been late afternoon, early evening, from Dermot Desmond, and he said that Brendan had resigned. I think people were taken aback by that. I assumed that nothing would have happened until the end of the season for anybody in particular. I was called, would I come in and hold proceedings until they get a permanent manager? I had 10 minutes to make up my mind, apparently, which I did.”

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 2024 Dermot Desmond and Thorbjorn Olesen DEN winners of the team event receiving there silver salvour from Peter Dawson Alfred Dunhill Links Trust after the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 2024 on the Old Course at St. Andrews Golf CLub, Fife, Scotland. 06/10/2024. Picture Fran Caffrey / Golffile.ie

Q: You mentioned Dermot Desmond; there were some very strong words from him about Brendan’s departure. I wonder what you make of that and how big a job you guys have of uniting everyone at this moment in time?

Martin O’Neill: “I can’t really comment on that. That’s something that’s outside my remit in that sense. What has happened just recently, Celtic have been so successful for a long, long time now. Each manager who steps into the job does brilliantly. Brendan has done terrifically well in both times he’s been here at the football club, as have a number of managers before. From that viewpoint, I don’t know what has happened in that sense, and it’s probably not for me to make a judgment here at this stage. All I know is that I’m in here now at the minute, working with Shaun. I knew Shaun as a player, a young player here, and a terrific footballer he was. However, we’ll try and work together and see what that brings. Winning is the most important thing. As I’ve said often enough when I do little bits of punditry, it still applies to me now.”

Martin O’Neill at Celtic Park on October 28, 2025 (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Q: Martin, what do you think this club needs at the moment?

Martin O’Neill: “Naturally, I think it’s the easiest thing in the world to say that when a club is successful, it has everybody going in the same direction. That doesn’t seem to be the case at this moment. Really, that’s it. Whether I’m able to do that or not is in the lap of the gods, but I think winning football matches has always been the main contributor to fans and the club being together. That would be it: winning football matches.”

Q: You obviously know Dermot, and you know Brendan. From a personal point of view, has it been sad or disappointing to see how publicly their relationship seems to have just collapsed?

Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, it is. I must admit that’s true. It is really sad to see that. I wasn’t expecting it. I don’t know what’s been going on because, despite the fact that Dermot brought me here to the football club 25 years ago, since I left, I have not had that many conversations with him. I’ve never been asked back again in my younger days. All of that is, as you say, quite sad to see, but I don’t know what’s taken place, so there is very little that I can add to it.”

Martin O’Neill at Celtic Park on October 28, 2025 (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Q: And just to confirm, this is only for you on an interim basis. I know we had quotes earlier from you on a radio station, but do you feel this is just an interim period for you, and you do not want this job full-time?

Martin O’Neill: “Number one, yes, this is definitely an interim. They could have a new manager in two weeks’ time. If we don’t win on Wednesday evening, we might have a new manager on Thursday. That’s not great news for Shaun to hear because he keeps hoping I’ll be around for a month. Celtic will be looking for a young manager to come in with a very, very decent CV and to work with the team. That’s exactly right.”

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Q: Can I ask you, Shaun, as well? You’ve obviously, in your previous role at the club, worked very closely with Brendan. Can I ask your thoughts on Brendan, on his character, on his style, and the general atmosphere in and around the club before his departure?

Shaun Maloney and Martin O’Neill at Celtic Park on October 28, 2025 (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Shaun Maloney: “In terms of him as a guy, my relationship was just really positive. He gave me my first coaching job seven or eight years ago, so I’m extremely grateful to him for that. I stayed in contact with him as I had different jobs, and being back here for the last three or four months, it picked up pretty much exactly where it was. My experience of him is a brilliant guy, a brilliant coach, extremely successful here. The feeling in the training ground was, as you’d imagine, sometimes after results, the training ground’s lower than others, but that’s pretty normal in every football club. The training ground was good. Today was difficult, as you’d expect. It was a turbulent day, a traumatic day really for everyone, not just at the stadium, but at the training ground. As expected, it was a tough morning.”

Q: You worked with the players this morning at Lennoxtown, you took training, is that correct? What do you feel that the players need right now, and how is their mentality and resolve after what’s been a bruising couple of weeks for the team and then a sucker punch last night?

Shaun Maloney: “If you take away the previous two weeks, I was in a very different role. I think today, as best as I could, and the other staff, after speaking with Martin, it was just trying to bring them stability, a little bit of normality in terms of preparations for the game. It’s really difficult; the club have lost some brilliant people. That happens in football, but you have to turn that around quickly and try to prepare the team against a good side. You have to move on pretty quickly.”

Shaun Maloney and Martin O’Neill at Celtic Park on October 28, 2025 (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Q: Is being the manager on a permanent basis a goal for you, either short-term or long-term?

Shaun Maloney: “No. I came back here in a role with the board and Brendan. I’m going to try my best to support Martin and the players, but I’m very similar to Martin. I’m here in the interim, then I will go back to my role.”

Q: How will the dynamic work between you two?

Martin O’Neill:“If this had been 20-odd years ago, I would have definitely been dishing out all the instructions. But since this young man has been a manager, I’d have to be careful what I say to him, and I think that he might actually be giving me instructions. It’s nice to see him; he keeps me young. It’s nice because I took him to Aston Villa, and then he claimed he was homesick and came back to Celtic. I’ve never really forgiven him for that. This is the first time that we’ve, other than the time when he was working in Belgium, the first time we’ve really met up. So I’ve got a lot to say to him now when this finishes, and it won’t be positive!”

Martin O’Neill at Celtic Park on October 28, 2025 (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Q: Martin, can I just go back to, obviously, it was quite public what happened between Dermot and Brendan. Did that give you any reservations about coming back to the club and saying yes to this opportunity?

Martin O’Neill: “No. If there’s such a thing as enjoying it, and I sometimes even wondered throughout my career whether I ever really, really enjoyed it – I’m probably too miserable to enjoy it. But I’m now, at this ripe old age, I’m going to try and enjoy it. The only way I will do it, the only way I’ve ever lived, is really by trying to win football matches. From that viewpoint, I have no… well, I said no hesitation, I was given only 10 minutes to make my mind up, so I had to do it in that time. I’m fine with it, but I would have no problem.

“I go back to someone who actually gave me the job in the first place, way back 25 years ago, when, in all honesty, at that stage, there were a lot of big, bigger names than myself in for that job. It was a real honour to manage the football club. From that viewpoint, I’m fine. As I said to you, I would intermittently keep in touch with Dermot, but it would never be anything like this. And as I said to you, all the times that they’ve changed managers, he’s never asked me, but why would he? Because they’ve kept winning, so it doesn’t make any difference. Other than giving Maloney a bit of a rollicking later on, I’m fine.”

Q: Martin, what’s going through your mind when you think about going out there back in that dugout tomorrow night?

Martin O’Neill: “Genuinely, a nervous excitement about it. I was always a bit nervous about matches anyway. I’m so excited by it. Obviously, I want to try and win the game, which is the most important thing. If there is some sort of clapping for me, I’m well aware that in this game, that will last for about 15 minutes. So at the end of the day, you have to win. And that’s what we have to do. Celtic has always had that DNA, for want of a better word, you have to win.”

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Q: Can I just ask you, obviously, we heard a wee bit of your thoughts on the league and Celtic yesterday on the radio. You feel that maybe getting a bit more physicality into the team, which was something your teams always had. Is that something you’re going to do?

Martin O’Neill: “That’s true. First of all, I stand by everything I said yesterday, although if I’d known I was going to get the job here, I wouldn’t have said anything. But that’s the nature of the game. So there I was, minding my own business in the King’s Road in London, and then I got the call. So now I’m thinking, should I have said that? Anyway, I stand by it. Hearts are very strong, they’re going brilliantly at this minute, they’ve opened up an eight-point gap. It’s something that I have thought about for quite some considerable time. There are different ways of playing the game. I inherited myself way back 25 years ago, some really great players, and I think that in terms of adding to that, I think that I did that. Eventually, over a relatively short period of time, the team gelled and got together, and we were very strong. I had lots of good players. And other than a couple of very young lads in the side, you know, proper men in the team.

Nicolas Kuhn scores during the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between FC Bayern München and Celtic FC at Allianz Arena on February 18, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

“Celtic, I’ve noticed here in the last couple of years, have not got that, but they’ve still been able to win. So they’ve been able to win in a different way, which is great. That was my viewpoint. I may end up after two or three weeks changing my mind completely about it, but that was, that has been my view for some time. But remember, it’s only about nine months ago that I saw this side going, and I was there in Munich, when this side did brilliantly. Bayern Munich scored in the last minute of the game, and I genuinely believe that if that had gone into extra time, Celtic would have beaten them. There are a number of ways to win football matches.”

Q: With big games coming up straight away, you’ve not got much time, but what do you think you need to do tactically to get Celtic back scoring goals? Because we’ve really struggled with that a lot this season.

Martin O’Neill: “They have, and it’s the number of chances you create during the course of the game that is the most important thing because you’re not going to stick everything away. That is it. We have to try and create. We can, and for instance, there was a moment in the game that Celtic could have gone 2-1 in front against Hearts. A good chance, the goalkeeper made a great save in the game. So I think overall, from what I see, and Shaun may totally disagree with me, it’s creating more chances for us. How we do that is entirely up to us.”

Q: Martin, you said you were in Munich for that fantastic performance back in February. A lot of the squad that played in that game are still at the club. Do you think Celtic can reach those levels again pretty quickly, either under yourself and Shaun or the permanent boss whenever they are appointed?

Celtic players pose for a photo on pitch prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between FC Bayern München and Celtic FC at Allianz Arena on February 18, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Martin O’Neill: “They have a couple of injuries at the moment to very, very key players. Every football club has key players. But the team are a good side. They’re a good team, a good side. And just have, you know, not used to losing some football matches, so maybe a little bit of confidence has been lost. But the players are really, really decent players, and I’m really, I am genuinely looking forward to working with them for how long that may be, I don’t know. That would be your ambition to try and get the football club back to there again. And we will strive as hard as we can to do it. I think that would be the message from both of us. But really, that’s it. We have some really fine footballers at the football club. And players who have won, and that’s nice. It’s nice to go into a dressing room with players who have actually won. I’m not saying all of them have done that; there are a couple of young lads in the side, but the boys know how to win. So they just need to get that back again. That would be the most important message for me.”

27 August 2000: Chris Sutton and Henrik Larsson of Celtic during the Scottish Premier League match against Rangers at Celtic Park. Celtic won the game 6 – 2. Stu Forster /Allsport

Q: Welcome back, Martin. Some of your greatest memories for fans back then were the victories over Rangers. You’ve got the small matter of the derby at the weekend. How excited are you both for that? Obviously, it’s such a huge game in Glasgow, you know how important that is to fans. Are you confident that you can lift the spirits within the camp to get up for that?

Martin O’Neill: ” If you had ever been in the room here at this time, you would have known my answer to that would have been, I cannot possibly think of that game. We’ve got a game tomorrow night, which is the most important thing for me. So after that, I could have a conversation with it. But as I said to you, if we don’t get a result tomorrow night, you might be talking to somebody else.”

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Q: You’ve added Mark Fotheringham to your backroom team. Can you just give your thinking behind that?

Martin O’Neill: “I thought he was a really good lad, had super, super self-confidence about himself, you know? If he’d had a tenth of the ability that his confidence suggested he had, he would have been Messi. But, great lad, I like him, really. I met him, I met him about, I’d say, about six or seven weeks ago by chance. I was at the League Managers Association meeting, and he was there. And it was really nice to meet him, I must admit. So I haven’t had a chance to see him. I’m surprised I haven’t heard him, but he’ll be fine. Fozzy will be fine, you know? He just needs, he just needs to sort out a little bit. He’ll be absolutely fine.”

Shaun Maloney: “Fozzy, he’s had a brilliant sort of coaching career, really. With Felix Magath out in Germany, he did brilliant work at Hertha Berlin. And then he did really well with Swansea last year, so completely different character to the rest of the coaches.”

Martin O’Neill: “By the way, I love him. I do love him. I love Fozzy. I have always done.”

Shaun Maloney: “Yeah, he’s a different character, so he’ll bring his own skill set, but he was a good lad. I think all the staff, this morning, wanted to pick the group up, and not just the players. You need people like Fozzy around and that sort of energy. So I’m looking forward to working with him.”

John Kennedy speaking to the media including The Celtic Star

Q: And just for both of you, have you got any words for John Kennedy, who’s also departed the club after many years of service?

Martin O’Neill: “John was just a young kid coming into the team when I was at Celtic. He played two games, he played Rangers and Barcelona, and then got that really bad injury when he was playing for Scotland. So, his career was really cut short as a player. He’s been part of Celtic for quite some considerable time. So I, again, obviously, I wish him well. I haven’t had a chance to speak to him, but the sort of changes had taken place before I came in.”

Q: Martin, you mentioned that your role here as interim manager is very much a temporary thing. Once that finishes, whenever that may be, do you think you’ll remain at the club in any sort of capacity?

Martin O’Neill: “That’s never been discussed, and I’m quite sure, no, I’ll just go into the sunset and disappear again. I wouldn’t imagine that’s the case. My job is here to try and, I suppose, if spirits are low, then part of my job is to do that, to lift it. And I think, in all honesty, I will get myself, I will get a lift from the team itself. But that’s not been discussed, and I wouldn’t imagine it.”

Callum McGregor’s equaliser…Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Shaun, you mentioned it was a tough day at Lennoxtown this morning. Who are the leaders in the dressing room? Who are the guys that you need to get on board with just now to take things forward between the group, yourself, and Martin?

Shaun Maloney: “We’ve got some experienced guys. Kasper is probably the most experienced. But in terms of the lads that probably come through the club, you’ve got Callum , James and Kieran. We relied heavily on them this morning. Alistair Johnston is a really big part of the group. Unfortunately, Cameron had surgery yesterday, I think, or he would have been part of that. So there’s enough experience, enough guys that have won, and enough guys probably that have experienced days like today. Yeah, we relied heavily on them this morning, and we’ll rely heavily on them tomorrow night. These moments are really, really difficult. I think as well, when you ask the question about John, he is a big part of what goes on on a daily basis. He’s a really extremely talented coach, very popular, so he’ll be missed. But it’s the senior players who will be relied upon and demanded more. I think it’s always the case, and it won’t be any different tomorrow night.”

Q: Martin, there’s a line in your book, I think it’s the very last line, where you talk about football as a lifelong addiction for you that you’ve been unable to shake off. Is that what brings you here at this late stage in your career?

Martin O’Neill: “I think that’s absolutely right. I think that would be it. Yes, it has been an addiction that you can’t shake off. When I was putting that last line in it, I didn’t think that this would materialise. Interestingly, I know it’s almost like 24 hours since I spoke to Dermot, but it is a bit surreal for me, really, at this minute. You can see, you know, lights shining in, and I’m thinking, ‘what have I done?’. No, I’m really excited by it, genuinely excited by it, and I am looking forward to it immensely. But you’re right, it’s a bit of an addiction. I’m kind of semi-enjoying doing a bit of punditry work, which is ridiculously easy when you can sit in a chair and criticise everybody else but yourself. I’m not so sure that I would come back out for many other clubs.”

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Q: There’s been a lot made in the last couple of days, especially over the last month or so, about the club’s transfer policy and everything that goes around that. Is part of the interim appointment of the two of yourselves a little bit of player evaluation, as well as maybe assisting the club with any recruitment that is going on in the background since the summer window closed?

Shaun Maloney: “From my point of view, no. I think the last 24 hours have been a bit of a whirlwind. It was literally, after speaking with Martin about what he wanted from me, which was really, really easy to say yes to, for what this man’s done for me and my family. In terms of the other parts of the club, no. I think that’s maybe for another day.”

Q: Obviously, there’s no time; tomorrow is a match straight away. Shaun, you’ve been very, very close to the team and the club in recent months. Martin, maybe a bit further away. The main thing we’ve been missing is creating chances and scoring goals. Can we expect tomorrow night to see any sort of tweak or change to the approach from what we’ve seen in recent weeks, or will tomorrow just be a matter of steadying the ship first and foremost, do you think?

Shaun Maloney and Martin O’Neill at Celtic Park on October 28, 2025 (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

Martin O’Neill: “I think that’s a very good point. I will obviously rely on this young man beside me here, as much as anything else. He would know the players far better than I. It’s alright watching players from a distance, and you make up your mind about something, and you find that when you arrive at a football club, and I’ve done this before, I’ve got a totally different viewpoint from a player. So I will be relying on this young man, but I think that the very natural things that you want, you want to have possession, you want to be able to try and create chances. It’s up to us to try and do that and just try and enforce our presence and our personality on the game itself, which will not be easy for us.”

Q: Hi Martin, Shaun. Welcome back to Celtic. Will you have any involvement in the process of recommending the next manager to Dermot and the rest of the board?

Martin O’Neill: “Years ago, you know, with such a big ego that I would have said, yeah, you need to recommend this (candidate). I wouldn’t. It would be an interesting one, I suppose. One of the questions you might think of is that if there’s going to be recruitment on in January time, which you, you know, I imagine that something like that would take place, then who knows what would happen. But I assume that you’d want, if you’re going to have a manager in, maybe by that time, then he himself, whoever that may be, would have an input into who would be coming to the football club, on a permanent basis, in terms of players.”

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