Martin O'Neill: I could never have dreamt of being a double winner with Celtic again

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Celtic F.C.

·23 May 2026

Martin O'Neill: I could never have dreamt of being a double winner with Celtic again

Martin O’Neill lifted the Scottish Cup for the fourth time as Celtic manager, and the first time in 21 years, having last guided the Hoops to success in the competition back in 2005.

And not surprisingly, he was delighted to see his side win the final and seal a memorable league and cup double.

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Celtic beat Dunfermline Athletic 3-1 at Hampden thanks to goals from Daizen Maeda, Arne Engels and Kelechi Iheanacho.

And the victory capped a memorable seven days for the club, having secured the league title with a dramatic victory over Hearts at Paradise last weekend.

And speaking to Celtic TV after the game, Martin O’Neill said: “I feel ecstatic. I never thought that I’d manage Celtic again, but to end up winning the double is just the best feeling in the world.

“It was lovely to get on the field there and see the Celtic fans, and us winning the game, which was a culmination of the second part of the season, and we ended up winning the league a week ago, and you just couldn’t make it up.

“I thought we had a lot of possession in the first half, Daizen scored again, and I thought we should have pushed on more strongly when we got the first goal.

“We didn’t and we took the sting out of the game, which was absolutely fine. Then we got the second goal and you feel you’ve got a bit of a cushion.

"We took that into the second half but I knew Neil Lennon wouldn’t lie down but would come roaring back, and the first 10 or 15 minutes belonged to Dunfermline.

“Iheancho scored the third goal, and he’s become a cult hero, so we were able to withstand the goal that Dunfermline scored.

“It does actually feel great, I must admit. I genuinely does. To come back and manage Celtic is like something I could never have dreamed of, but to come back and be part of a winning team is just brilliant.”