Champions League Play-off – “If we can get through that, that would be fantastic,” Martin O’Neill | OneFootball

Martin O’Neill has talked openly about Celtic’s upcoming UEFA Champions League play-off tie and insisted that it would be fantastic to get into the main group phase this year…

Martin O’Neill in the North Curve’s Celtic tifo. Saturday, 16 May 2026. Celtic 3 Hearts 1. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

The Bhoys missed out last August to Kazakh minnows Kairat Almaty, in what was a rather pathetic and embarrassing episode in the club’s illustrious and unbroken history.

Paying for the Disco Lights at Celtic Park

In what was another summer of discontent, similar to the John McGinn one back in 2018 when AEK Athens put us out in the qualifying rounds again, Brendan Rodgers was at odds with a Celtic Board who were unwilling to improve the squad for European football. All we got were those disco lights.

As we now know, that episode blew up big time once again, as Brendan Rodgers then departed in October, with the principal shareholder consequently issuing a childish statement slating the former Liverpool and Leicester City manager. The loss to Almaty was damaging enough, but the chaos that ensued afterwards sent the season on a downward spiral.

Martin O’Neill’s Midas Touch

If it hadn’t been for O’Neill’s midas touch on more than one occasion, as the Board continued to sabotage the club and team, we might have been looking at second or even third place in the Scottish Premiership, with zero silverware in the form of domestic cups too.

The suits even messed O’Neill’s chance at another historic Treble into the bargain, relieving him of his duties just before the League Cup Final, in order to facilitate the hapless Wilfred Nancy’s arrival.

Fast forward to this summer and the same old issues are arsing again and creating disharmony amongst the supporters. Martin spoke on this briefly and insists he wants harmony to break out once again.

“I thought the Hearts thing was just exceptional,” Martin O’Neill

“To me personally, I thought it was really massive for us because it gave us the sort of atmosphere that I’d known way back in my time,” O’Neill said.

“It really was fantastic. And even if it was for that short spell, that sort of unification and the crowd supporting the side, the noise was great. The Rangers atmosphere was terrific. And I thought the Hearts thing was just exceptional,” the gaffer admitted, as reported by The Herald.

“It’s important for us to keep this. I think some signings, which we hope to make, will obviously make a difference.

“I think there was a bit of a disconnect because the signings last year either came in too late and then they went out of the Champions League. Well, that could happen. We could sign another five players, and we could still go out of the Champions League. But those games are really big for us,” the Celtic manager stated.

Martin O’Neill and Callum McGregor celebrating the title.

Martin revealed that it would be great to get through the play-off tie and back to the big time, but remarkably seemed to defend the Board’s previous record in transfer dealings ahead of these matches, in what is becoming a strangely regular occurrence now.

“If we can get through that, that would be fantastic,” O’Neill added. “But as I say, we could sign three or four more players and hopefully can do, and still go out of the Champions League. And then we’ll see what sort of effect that has on the crowd,” he said, in what is an odd take from the Celtic manager.

Paul Gillespie

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