Martin O’Neill pressed on Paul Tisdale’s work by Chris Sutton | OneFootball

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill admitted he “wasn’t totally convinced” about the club’s recent transfer dealings when asked about Paul Tisdale’s influence behind the scenes…

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill is seen during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park on February 01, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

O’Neill was pressed on whether he had to take a more direct role in player recruitment during the January window following Tisdale’s exit from Celtic.

Chris McKay and Paul Tisdale, Motherwell v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. 30 December 2025 Photo by Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

In a separate announcement confirming Wilfried Nancy’s departure, the club added: “The Club can also confirm that Paul Tisdale has left his position as Head of Football Operations.

“We thank Paul for the contribution he has made in that role.”

Speaking to Chris Sutton on Sky Sports, O’Neill was asked about Celtic’s recruitment strategy, with the discussion touching on Paul Tisdale’s former role at the club.

“If you’re asking me honestly, I think that I wasn’t totally convinced about the [previous]recruitment for Celtic Football Club,” O’Neill said.

“It’s still a big club, and the ambition of the football club is to play big European matches, to be involved in big European games. We’ve actually turned down big, big money this week [for Arne Engels].”

Arne Engels of Celtic. 01.02.2026 Celtic v Falkirk, Scottish Premiership. Photo Kenny Ramsay IMAGO

“I know it was very late in the transfer market and so getting ideal replacements in was going to be difficult, but surely that might show you a sign that at least we’ve held onto our players.”

“Did I go into the board and say to them, ‘are you going to stop this?’ No, I didn’t; they stopped it themselves, so they’ve got to get some credit for that.”

When pressed on whether he was satisfied with the club’s January dealings, he went on to say: “I’m a football manager, so satisfaction and football management never go together. But I am happy, I’m happy with what we’ve done.”

Celtic v Utrecht, UEFA Europa League, League Stage. Back row (L-R) Sebastian Tounekti, Auston Trusty, Arne Engels, Benjamin Nygren, Liam Scales, Kasper Schmeichel. Front row (L-R) Daizen Maeda, Yang Hyeon-Jun, Callum McGregor, Kieran Tierney, Colby Donovan Photo: Kenny Ramsay. IMAGO / News Licensing

“I needed to supplement the squad, and I wanted to try and – if we can, like anything else – bring in a bit of quality. Getting quality at this time, with the sort of thing you’re looking for, is still particularly difficult.”

Conor Spence

Celtic in the Thirties by Matt Corr. Click on image to order

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