Martin staying or leaving – ‘Celtic has thrown us some real curveballs’ | OneFootball

Will Martin O’Neill be the Celtic manager by the time the team takes on Motherwell at Fir Park next Sunday lunchtime?

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)

While there’s plenty of attention today around what Box-Office Brendan may or may not say when he speaks to ACSOM at the Royal Concert Hall next summer, there’s a more immediate matter still to be clarified…

Celtic FC Legends v Borussia Dortmund Legends – Celtic Park James Forrest and Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers carry the Scottish Cup and the SPL trophy onto the field before the charity match at Celtic Park on Sunday May 26, 2024. Photo Robert Perry

That of course is whether the current Celtic manager will take the team to Fir Park a week on Sunday as the Hoops get back to work after the extended international break.

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

You will need no reminding that Martin O’Neill spoke about considering his position on the back of a Premier Sports Cup exit at Ibrox in a 3-0 defeat to the Rangers, a 3-1 defeat to Ferencvaros in the opening night of the Europa League campaign then another defeat at Celtic Park, this time to the Rangers in the Scottish Premiership. The scoreline was closer at 1-0 but this was the most concerning of the three.

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)

Celtic’s shape collapsed

Celtic’s shape collapsed, players seemed to have little or no idea what they were supposed to be doing. Celtic started with no wingers and ended with three with James Forrest ending up playing as an eight, or was it a ten? No point asking Jamesy as he clearly had no idea like the rest of the 60,000 crowd who have witnesses poor performances before but never one so clueless.

Martin O’Neill knows football inside out and could see the same as the supporters. Will he return ready to put things back together again and outline some home truths in the dressing room? That seems like the most likely option however you can’t rule out him bowing to what he may think is the inevitable after the manner in which he was badly let down by the club in the summer transfer window.

Communication is not a Celtic strongpoint

Michael Nicholson, CEO of Celtic and Brian Wilson Celtic’s ‘interim’ Chairman look on from the stands 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)

Communication is not a Celtic strongpoint, instead they stick their heads in the sand and hope for the best. However buried deep inside the club’s financial report Michael Nicholson, the club’s quiet man and CEO did mention Martin O’Neill and within that there is an indication that the legendary Celtic boss is going nowhere. We shall see.

BBC Sport has been discussing Martin O’Neill’s situation on their Scottish football podcast.

And one of their contributors, the former Rangers and Kilmarnock goalkeeper Cammy Bell reckons that Martin will remain at Celtic but there must be an upturn in results to keep him in the Celtic hot-seat.

“It was such a damaging week for him”

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)

“I’m a little bit surprised there’s not been much coming out of Celtic because when you listen to Martin O’Neill’s comments after that defeat at Celtic Park against Rangers, you almost assumed that within a couple of days he was probably going to move on,” Bell told the BBC’s Scottish football podcast.

“It was such a damaging week for him, he had felt the pressure and might have felt he had taken Celtic as far as he could, but nothing’s happened.

“So you fully expect O’Neill to now be in the dugout. He has maybe gone away, had a think about it, reset himself and still firmly believes he can take Celtic on to go and win trophies this season.

“They’ve got a tough, tough schedule ahead, they’re playing Motherwell a week on Sunday, then they’ve got Benfica away and then Hearts, so it’s a huge run for Celtic when they come back to domestic football.”

Martin O’Neill, Manager of Celtic reacts 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)

The Scotsman’s Sports Editor Mark Atkinson, agreed with Bell, believing that it looks likely that Martin O’Neill has decided to remain at Celtic.

“Time is a healer,” Atkinson said. “I certainly think that if he does come back – and that’s looking likely at the moment – there’s not a lot of wriggle room left for O’Neill and Celtic, they really do have to start picking up some results.

“And if Celtic do get some momentum again, O’Neill will probably feel better about himself. We expect him to come back, but Celtic have over the past year have thrown us some real curveballs, so you never know what’s coming in the next nine days or so.”

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Celtic in the Fifties by Matt Corr, in two volumes, both published on 4th September 2026 by Celtic Star Books. Click on image to order.

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