Martin O’Neill admits Celtic are battling ‘crisis of confidence’ ahead of Rangers showdown | OneFootball

Martin O’Neill admits Celtic must quickly overcome a crisis of confidence after their miserable week continued with a 3-1 Europa League defeat to Ferencvaros…

Kieran Tierney of Celtic applauds fans after the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between Celtic FC and Ferencvarosi TC at Celtic Park on September 17, 2026 . (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The Hoops were beaten at Celtic Park on Thursday night, just days after their 3-0 Premier Sports Cup defeat to Rangers at Ibrox.

O’Neill now has little time to find solutions before Rangers arrive at Parkhead for Sunday’s Premiership showdown, with Celtic desperately needing a response.

Asked whether fear had crept into his players’ performances, O’Neill admitted via Daily Record: “Oh gosh, yeah. Well, we have to do it. You’re right, I think that when you lose a bit of confidence, then you become tentative, and I think this is it.

“I think that the great players play through a crisis of confidence.

“Everybody’s had it at some stage or another, but for us, we have to try and battle through that.

“We’ve got to try and get a little bit of energy back into the team again, and just be prepared, you know.

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill and assistant Shaun Maloney during the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between Celtic FC and Ferencvarosi TC at Celtic Park on September 17, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“It’s Thursday evening, we’re in tomorrow, and Saturday, and just get ourselves prepared.

“Now, how we restore confidence, I think, obviously, is really essentially—and it’s almost a cliché phrase-get on the front foot, be on the front foot, win second balls.

“Things, you know, part of the game that people seem to have some sort of disdain for, but still exists.

Kieran Tierney of Celtic applauds fans after the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between Celtic FC and Ferencvarosi TC at Celtic Park on September 17, 2026 . (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“I think that confidence is a funny old thing, because you can gain it slowly, and it can ebb away so quickly.

“I think it’s a big thing in the game anyway, but if one or two players are lacking that, it’s part of my job to restore that.”

The Celtic boss conceded he is enduring a difficult period himself but remains convinced he can provide the leadership required to turn things around.

He said: “Oh, I’ve had plenty of tough weeks. I’ve had some success, and I’ve had plenty of failures, so, you know… my career might be based on failures…

Mika Baur of Celtic celebrates scoring his team’s first goal with Camilo Duran during the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between Celtic FC and Ferencvarosi TC at Celtic Park on September 17, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“It’s important for me, as it is for the players, that I show some sort of leadership as well.

“Yeah, there are low moments. The loss last Sunday, the loss tonight, yeah, it does hit you hard, no question about it.”

O’Neill refused to pin Celtic’s problems solely on their disjointed summer transfer business, although he acknowledged some of the club’s late arrivals are still adjusting to the demands at Parkhead.

O’Neill said: “I think that some of the players who have come in quite late. I don’t think they’ve grasped what it’s all about.

“Just, I think it’s taking a little bit of time, obviously, when we’re getting the players in.

“You know what a football club-you know what it means to the supporters.

“They know how big it is, and winning is everything.

“So, that’s something that I don’t want them to miss out on that. But that might take a little bit of time.

“And of course, bedding in and getting to know new players, we signed a few quite late on, and they have to get up to the sort of fitness levels that are demanded.

“I think that we’ll grasp it in time. It’s funny that with the international break coming up, players heading off on international duty, at least, you know, thinking about what we’ve done since we’ve arrived at the football club, how important it is for everyone, and how important their contribution is going to be.

Celtic fans during the UEFA Europa League 2026/27 League Phase MD1 match between Celtic FC and Ferencvarosi TC at Celtic Park on September 17, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“That’s really where we’re at now, moving on, starting off optimistically.

“We had a tough game, want to try and keep that going on Sunday.

“These are big games for us. We failed. We’ll try and learn from it if we can.

“But really, there are a couple of things that I want to talk to them about tomorrow and Saturday, but really, some of that I’ll have to just park to the side and just get ourselves totally motivated for Sunday.”

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