Martin O’Neill’s days as Celtic manager likely to be numbered | OneFootball

Martin O’Neill’s time as Celtic manager appears to be drawing to a close, with frustrations towards the summer recruitment failings being the principal reason. So we have yet another Celtic manager being let down by the Celtic Board…

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill looks on during the Scottish Premiership 2026/27 match between Celtic and the Rangers at Celtic Park on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Graham Spiers last night posted his on insightful thoughts on Martin O’Neill’s future at Celtic via his Patreon account.

He concluded that the legendary Celtic manager’s time at the club is likely to be coming to an end after seven bruising days and three defeats after a frustrating summer transfer window where he became the latest manager to be badly let down by the Celtic board.

As Martin outlined himself across various interviews after the 1-0 defeat to the Rangers at Celtic Park yesterday, he will go for a short holiday over the course of the next week and will have a serious think about his future as Celtic manager in the wake of three hugely concerning displays by the team in the two defeats to the latest Ibrox club booking the home loss to Ferencvaros in the Europa League opener.

Ryan Naderi of the Rangers celebrates scoring the only goal of the game during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and the Rangers at Celtic Park on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Spiers opens by stating that the veteran Celtic manager who is is very close to will use the next few days to “seriously considering whether to remain in position as Celtic manager,” noting that “O’Neill was pained by his team’s inadequate performance in their 1-0 defeat to Rangers.”

“During the domestic break ahead the Celtic manager will attempt to grab a brief foreign holiday with his wife, Geraldine, during which one question will be uppermost in his mind: “should I stay on as manager?”

Yesterday was a shambles from start to finish in a match where Celtic mustered just one shot on goal and the Rangers goal was gifted by the result of a basic goalkeeping error from Sinisalo.

Martin O’Neill arrives at the stadium. Celtic v Rangers. Scottish Premiership. 20 September 2026. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

Spiers noted that: “Celtic Park – filled with home fans – became aghast at what it was watching.”

The close confidant to the Celtic manager, who worked with him in his first spell as Celtic boss two decades ago and who hosted a series of interview session before live audiences with the hugely popular Celtic figure went on the outline the issues that have ‘festered’ with Martin O’Neill since the summer.

Spiers also pointed out that the situation clearly has not been helped by Martin’s recent health issues which required a procedure and a hospital stay a month ago. He goes on to list the sorry list of issues that have caused Martin frustration and concern over the past months, while having to defend his Celtic bosses publicly.

Martin O’Neill arrives at the stadium. Celtic v Rangers. Scottish Premiership. 20 September 2026. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

“These can now be explored, because the truth will out,” Spiers notes.

“I believe O’Neill was left frustrated by Celtic’s attempts at recruitment during the recent transfer window. On a number of occasions a targeted player failed to arrive.

“As August wore on, O’Neill was defending Celtic in public, saying great efforts were being made at recruitment. Privately, he was despairing.

“The Celtic board appeared to reach a view that, by the time August was out, their business of bringing new, quality players to the club had been satisfactorily concluded.

It is inconceivable that O’Neill agreed, because he appears to believe his squad is currently weaker compared to the one that secured last season’s league and cup double.”

James Penrice of Rangers reacts after a challenge from Callum McGregor of Celtic during the Scottish Premiership 2026/27 match between Celtic and Glasgow Rangers at Celtic Park on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Reading that may make you think of the frustrated figure managing Celtic a year ago who was subsequently ’emptied’ by the Celtic controller Dermot Desmond in an astonishing rant posted on the official Celtic FC website.

Players like record signing Kasper Hogh and Haissem Hassan have so far failed to make an impact and anyone who listened to the the scouting report from an analyst at The Athletic on one of the summer podcasts on Celtic media, will not be surprised at the unsatisfactory start made by the Paris born Egyptian while the record signing Danish international seems to struggle playing on grass.

The signings closer to the window closing – cheaper options further down the list including the injured left back who was supposed to cover for Kieran Tierney but is still on the treatment table either at Lennoxtown or down at Chelsea, have contributed next to nothing.

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill looks on during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

As we reported on Celtic Shorts, Martin O’Neill called out the Celtic board regarding the timing of the Arne Engels transfer to West Ham essentially noting that they were happy to take the money but not to spend a proportion of it on an adequate replacement. The gap in ‘legs’ that his has caused in the Celtic team has been a significant factor in the collapses against LASK, the latest Ibrox club twice and the Hungarian outfit last Thursday night at Celtic Park.

Even after being announced as the permanent manager in the summer Martin O’Neill had to wait or his coaching staff to be confirmed as Celtic’s principal shareholder haggled with Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham over their remuneration packages.

“O’Neill felt a bad vibe about things. It set an uncomfortable tone around Celtic as the new season approached,” Spiers noted.

The tactic changes that O’Neill wished to implement were frustrated by the deep rooted impact of Brendan Rodgers’ preferred system and any changes to a more direct, attacking style were harder to implement that perhaps Martin O’Neill expected.

Spiers noted: “O’Neill has also struggled to reshape Celtic’s playing style to a more front-footed, aggressive, forward-momentum method. The legacy of Brendan Rodgers’ allegiance to passing/possession/recycling football has run deep at Celtic, and proved frustrating for O’Neill to try to change.”

There has been little positive to report about the recent Celtic performances, in fact they can in the whole be described as a complete mess and that could also be said of the bizarre team selections and in these games added to by the strange set up yesterday which no-one is actually sure what it was. Was it 3-5-1-1? Who knows.

Martin O’Neill, Manager of Celtic, arrives at the stadium before the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and the Rangers at Celtic Park on September 20, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“There was anger around Celtic Park, as well as the feeling that, after such a dreadful week, the team was going nowhere. O’Neill might well feel that his heroics of last season are now well and truly consigned to history,” Spiers stated.

He then quoted something Martin admitted after yesterday’s shambles.

“It’s a time for self-reflection. I think I could be much better. When you lose games you have to reflect on it, you have to reflect on what you have done for the team. You have to ask: ‘have done enough for the side?’ A manager is responsible for the team and for results. So, yes, I do self-reflect a great deal.”

Spiers notes that Martin’s family are settled in the south of England and that “a more idyllic lifestyle is there waiting to be embraced.” Few if any Celtic supporters would grudge him that.

Brian Wilson, Dermot Desmond and Michael Nicholson overseeing 2 x £40m Champions League misses…

Of course he will have to speak to Dermot Desmond who should pay Martin’s one year contract in full and allow him to leave. That should happen as quickly as possible so that a new manager can be brought in straight away.

Spiers concludes: “Is Martin O’Neill enjoying his job at Celtic? I severely doubt it. Are Martin’s days as Celtic manager numbered? Yes, they might well be.”

Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic, applauds prior to the UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Knockout Play-off second leg match between FC Bayern München and Celtic FC at Allianz Arena on February 18, 2025 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Matthias Hangst/Getty Images)

Anyone else beginning to think that this time last year Brendan Rodgers was NOT the problem after all?

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