“The minute it left his foot, I thought, ‘This is in,” Martin O’Neill | OneFootball

Well that was some climax for the two title challengers playing last night with Celtic grabbing another late winner and over at Fir Park Stephen Welsh, on loan from Celtic, scored a late equaliser for Motherwell against theRangers that was celebrated wildly by Celtic supporters exiting Paradise as our game had kicked off 15 minutes earlier…

Stephen Welsh of Motherwell scores the equaliser during the Scottish Premiership match between Motherwell and theRangers at Fir Park, on 11 February 2026. Photo Raymond Davies IMAGO/PSI

Martin O’Neill spoke to the mainstream media following Celtic’s dramatic 2-1 victory over Livingston last night courtesy of Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain’s stoppage time winner. Here is everything the Hoops boss said…

11.02.2026 Celtic v Livingston, Scottish Premiership. Celtic managerMartin O’Neill on the touchline. Photo Kenny Ramsay IMAGO / News Lic

Q: Martin, will we start just at the end then with that last minute goal from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain?

Martin O’Neill:  “He’s been a class player, there’s no question about it. He’s played for big teams, and he’s performed brilliantly. So, just delighted to have him, really delighted to have him. Getting him onto the field as well to turn the game for us, which was brilliant, as only he can.”

Q: Is that what you had in mind when we spoke to you a week or two ago and you said, you know, we’re looking at free agents, give us maybe that bit extra, was that exactly what you pictured?

Martin O’Neill: “Very much so. Did I think it was going to be as dramatic as that, scoring the goal? But I think that he can give us something, no question about that. He’s a really decent player and he gets up to speed with things. He’s only done a couple of days and I couldn’t be more pleased with him. He’s made a big impact, believe it or not, even in the training sessions with the rest of the players. That’s always a good sign. I’m just delighted that he’s in and I think that when he’s probably fit, he’ll be great for us.”

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain of Celtic reacts at the final whistle with Callum McGregor Celtic v Livingston, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 11 February 2026. Photo Mark RunnaclesShutterstock

Q: To show that level of calmness that he did when it was a bit frantic, that’s going to, you think, serve you well in the coming weeks?

Martin O’Neill: “Frantic, you’re right, it was frantic on the pitch and frantic in the dugout as well! So it was great. I was right behind him when I saw it. The minute it left his foot, I thought, ‘This is in.’”

Q: We’ve all seen his quality, but you mentioned his qualities as a man as well. He seems like a great character?

Martin O’Neill: “He is, actually. He’s incredibly modest about his achievements in the game, and he wants to do well. I think he thought himself, he’s 32 years of age and he should be at the peak of his career. He’s gone off to Turkey for a couple of years, perhaps maybe no-one wanted to take him. I don’t know that particular scene, but he’s had a few managers out there, and so he’s come back. He didn’t have a club, training with Arsenal, obviously, the things that we know. He’s come up here and he wants to have a go, which is great.”

07.02.2026 Celtic v Dundee, Scottish Cup 5th round. New Celtic signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain is paraded before kick-off. Photo Kenny Ramsay via IMAGO

Q: I was saying to Alex that some things are just written in the stars. Did you have a feeling when he came off the bench that something special was going to happen tonight?

Martin O’Neill: “I’d love to tell you that. I’d really love to say. Did I think that he might actually make a little bit of an impact, even in the few moments? Yes. Did I think he was going to score a wonder goal like that there? Not really. But I was hoping that he would add, just as you said, a bit of calmness to the situation. We were trying. When Livingston equalised, of course, the crowd get very anxious. When we take two or three extra passes, there’s a feeling, which I’ve known about way back in my time as well, to the minute that goes back once or twice. You can understand a bit of frustration, but you just felt as if, just exactly as you said, he just added that wee bit of class to us, even in those few moments that he was on.”

Stephen Welsh of Motherwell scores the equaliser during the Scottish Premiership match between Motherwell and theRangers at Fir Park, on 11 February 2026. Photo Raymond Davies IMAGO/PSI

Q: Just before the goal, Martin, obviously the Rangers were winning at Fir Park. Celtic then score, Rangers then lose a goal. How pivotal a moment could this be?

Martin O’Neill: “I think there will be a few twists and turns. I’ve just done an interview there, and I think there will be. But I think it’s because there’s a lot of tension around. We’ve got no room to manoeuvre. I bet you’ve heard that a few times from me. I’m sick of saying it. But we don’t. We find ourselves in this position, so we’ve been chasing the whole way. So what we’ve done tonight, we’ve kept ourselves in it.”

11.02.2026 Celtic v Livingston, Scottish Premiership.Marcelo Saracchi scores for Celtic. Photo Kenny Ramsay IMAGO / News Licensing

Q: You created so many chances in the first half?

Martin O’Neill:“ I think this is really the whole point. The game, honestly, I think we could have been well ahead after 20 minutes in the game. We get the goal, and then you’re hoping to add the second one. And we did have chances. We had chances before the goal, and we got a couple of chances after. But once it’s still in the balance, I said to the players at half-time, the game’s still in the balance. Because you know that Livingston are very, very strong, with good set-piece deliveries and things like you see have caused us plenty of problems. And that was always a concern.”

Q: At this stage now, are you looking at the league table as each game passes by?

Martin O’Neill: “I’ve always heard this about managers when asked these questions years ago, and saying, ‘Well, I don’t really look at the table.’ I’ve looked at this table all the time. Unfortunately, it never changes! It never seems to change at all! But I do, yeah. So it’s, I think, idiocy, really, to say that you don’t look at the table. Of course you do. It’s one thing looking at the table is fine, and staring at it. The other thing is trying to do something about it. And that’s all we can do. I’m not in control of anything else. I’m not even sure I’m in control here either! But at the end of all, that’s all we can do.”

Q: Going back to the Motherwell game, Stephen Welsh had scored the last-minute equaliser to pull Rangers back and almost level out the title race. It just seems like, talking about twists and turns, this season’s got so many storylines?

Martin O’Neill: “Well, that’s true. Steven, we brought him back, first of all, because we didn’t have an extra centre-back at the time. But he wanted to go back to Motherwell, which was fine. And I think he was stopped from leaving in the summertime. There was a possibility of him going to a football club that was held back, for some reason or other, anyway. And I think he was disappointed with that. And I think the club saw the many aspects. He was out at Motherwell. He wanted to go back. We just had to wait until we got someone in. And we did, very late on. And he’s gone back there. He’s really enjoying himself. He’s loving it. And that’s great for him.”

Martin O’Neill, manager of Celtic. Celtic v Livingston, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 11 February 2026. Photo Mark Runnacles IMAGO/Shutterstock

Q: Obviously, your 200th league game in charge of Celtic. Is it still finding ways to fray your nerves?

Martin O’Neill: “I’m 200 games, is it? 200 league games? I was told that there in the interview. I honestly didn’t know. I would have got long odds about that there in about the 5th of October of last year. Long odds. You wouldn’t have gone to Ladbrokes with that one, would you? So, very pleased.”

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

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