Martin O'Neill: Title win at Paradise was everything I could hope for, and more

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Celtic F.C.

·20 May 2026

Martin O'Neill: Title win at Paradise was everything I could hope for, and more

Saturday proved to be everything and more for Martin O’Neill as he guided Celtic to another league title – their fifth in a row and the Irishman’s fourth as manager.

The previous three were all won during his first spell in charge, between 2000-05, and even into October last year he couldn’t have envisaged returning to the club, never mind lifting another league trophy.

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But in what he described as ‘a tumultuous season’, Martin O’Neill was delighted to savour the success on Saturday at Celtic Park.

And just a few days on from that incredible day, when late, late goals from Daizen Maeda and Callum Osmand helped deliver a 3-1 win over Hearts and another title for the Hoops, the manager sat down with Celtic TV to reflect on the monumental achievement.

“The first moment I thought we were going to win was when three of our players were running with the ball up the field and no Hearts goalkeeper in sight. I felt, yes, this is it!,” he said.

“So that was a fantastic moment. The scenes were amazing and it was a surreal moment for me.

“It was very emotional, I must admit. How would you be expecting to leave this football club in 2005 and expect to be coming back as manager 20 years later – it defies belief.

“But the lovely thing about it is that it gave me a chance to put aside the defeat at Motherwell (Fir Park 2005), and for us to win at Motherwell on the Wednesday evening, in my mind, it kind of justified it, if nothing else.

'But the game on Saturday was everything you could possibly hope it to be, and more.'

And Martin O’Neill also wanted to emphasise the achievement of his side in becoming champions again, something he feels has been lost in the post-match narrative from the weekend.

“Outside of our supporters, outside us, outside the diaspora, everybody wanted Hearts to win, so there was just this incredible anti-feeling about us winning it, so that didn’t become the story,” he said.

“The story became the fans coming on to the pitch to celebrate, as if it’s never happened before, and it was downright skullduggery on our part to actually come and take the win away from Hearts.

“Hearts have been brilliant all season, let’s remind ourselves about that, but we won it and sometimes I have to remind myself that we did.”

For Celtic, the season did not end with the incredible title triumph last weekend, because Martin O’Neill will take his side to Hampden this Saturday, looking to secure a momentous double.

The Hoops face Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Cup final, and the manager is looking forward to coming up against Neil Lennon, who is in charge of Dunfermline.

“Neil’s done wonderfully well with Dunfermline and we need to be on our guard,” Martin O’Neill said.

“The players have celebrated now, we done all that and it’s all over. Now we’ve got to start concentrating on the game again.

“We need to be ready. The last thing you want is to have the euphoria of last week and then leave the season on a sour note. We’ve got to be ready for this game and I know that Neil Lennon will be ready.”