Manager looks ahead to Glasgow derby at Paradise

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Celtic F.C.

·18 September 2026

Manager looks ahead to Glasgow derby at Paradise

Martin O’Neill knows that, regardless of when a Glasgow derby is played in any given season, victory is imperative.

But on the back of a League Cup defeat at Ibrox last Sunday and a Europa League loss to Ferencvaros on Thursday night, the Celtic manager also knows that a win this Sunday in the first Premiership derby clash of the campaign will be the perfect way for his team to bounce back.

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Speaking at Lennoxtown today ahead of the weekend game, Martin O’Neill said: “We're ready to go. We really are. We’ll get prepared for the game. It was a difficult game last Sunday and difficult, obviously, last night, but we're raring to go.

“It's a big game whether it's played in September or March time. It's a really big game, and we need to be up for it.

“Just analysing last night's game, we had all the possession for 10 or 15 minutes. We created a number of great chances and had we taken one of those and got ourselves into the lead, then I think confidence would have been restored.

“But we're far from rock bottom. We're still in the lead in the league and if we could win this, we can extend the lead.

“You could do any press conference on a Friday for any manager who would maybe have lost a previous game, and they still talk about confidence and restoration of it. So that's nothing new.

“When you lose a game, some players maybe don't play up to their potential, and of course then the first thing you think is maybe a little bit of confidence. But you can restore that with a victory.”

As for the challenge that the Champions face this Sunday from the opposition, the manager added: “I've tried to focus even on what we can do.

"Of course, you take into consideration the opposition. That's why you look at them but I'm not in control of what the opposition can do. You can only control what you do.

“But you have to counteract whatever sort of systems that other teams are playing. And of course, if you win the football match, it seems as if you have countered those. If you don't, then you're open to debate.”