Why Celtic are right to stick with Martin O’Neill | OneFootball

The chaos of the 2025-26 season makes Celtic’s decision to stick with Martin O’Neill all the more remarkable. The Hoops cycled through three managers between October and January, trailed Hearts by six points, and lost an Old Firm derby that sparked protests outside Celtic Park.

Yet the 74-year-old O’Neill stepped back into the dugout, guided the club to the Premiership title on the final day, and lifted the Scottish Cup, further enhancing his reputation as a ‘winner’.

Now, after holding talks with major shareholder Dermot Desmond, O’Neill has agreed to become Celtic’s permanent manager on an initial one-year deal.

It is the right decision, but only if the board follows it up with the necessary investment. O’Neill’s backroom staff at Parkhead will remain unchanged, with Shaun Maloney, Mark Fotheringham and Gavin Strachan all continuing in their current roles.

That continuity matters, as it is not just O’Neill who has made an impact; his assistants, Maloney and Fotheringham, have driven training on a daily basis, and their influence has been clear in Celtic’s approach to matches.

The intensity returned to the team almost immediately after their arrival. Keeping that structure together gives Celtic a genuine platform.

The concern is what comes next. Celtic won a domestic double under O’Neill’s stewardship, but the one-year deal raises unavoidable questions.

If they win again next season, what happens then? O’Neill will be 75 by the time his contract expires, and the club’s lack of a longer-term vision risks recreating the uncertainty that defined the early months of this campaign.

Celtic cannot afford another managerial crisis. The immediate priority is the transfer window. Several key players are expected to depart this summer, leaving significant recruitment work to be done before the new campaign begins.

O’Neill inherited a squad in disarray and achieved extraordinary results. Give him a properly resourced squad, and the potential is considerably greater. Fail to back him in the market, and Celtic risk sliding back into the dysfunction that made this season so harrowing before he arrived to steady the ship.

O’Neill has earned the trust of the fanbase, the dressing room, and the board through the most turbulent of circumstances. Now the club must earn his trust by giving him the tools to make next season more than just a holding operation.

The Premiership title was a remarkable salvage job. What comes next should be something far more deliberate.