“Yeah, I do have an argument with the red card,” Martin O’Neill

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The Celtic Star

·25 de enero de 2026

“Yeah, I do have an argument with the red card,” Martin O’Neill

Martin O’Neill had calmed down somewhat by the time he got into the media room at Tynecastle this afternoon after Celtic’s second 2-2 draw in four days while being down to ten men in both matches…

Martin O’Neill arrives at Tynecastle. Hearts v Celtic, 25 January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou.

Q: Martin, when you consider your exertions over the last three days, are you happy with the point?

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Martin O’Neill: “I was delighted with the effort of the team, particularly towards the end when we were down to ten men again. It was a tough old match. I expected it to be, and that’s exactly what it was.”

Q: Did you have any argument with the red card?

Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, I do have an argument with the red card. The referee’s given a yellow card and is sent over to VAR to re-referee the game. My take on it is that, first of all, the ball is going away from the goal, so the player has to get a hold of that and control it. And secondly, and more importantly, is that we’ve got someone on the cover. So that’s what the referee saw in the first place. He was pretty close to it, and it’s not. So it puts you under severe pressure in the last 20-odd minutes.”

Referee Steven McLean shows Auston Trusty a red card after a VAR review

Q: Did you go and seek out the referee to ask for an explanation on that?

Martin O’Neill: “No, but if he gave me a chance I might do.”

Tomas Cvancara in action at Tynecastle. Hearts v Celtic, 25 January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou.

Q: What did you make of the debut of your striker?

Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, once he got used to the surrounds, a difficult game for him to come into, I thought his run for the goal was fantastic. Absolutely fantastic. So he’ll do fine for us during the course of time when he gets to know about it. All he’s had is a couple of training sessions with his teammates. But yeah, he’s got really good pace, did well, has good control, and I was really pleased with him. I think he was holding his hamstring, I was worried about that, and that’s when we replaced him.”

'It's not a red card... It's really as simple as that' 🟥 Martin O'Neill speaking after Celtic's 2-2 draw with Hearts at Tynecastle ⤵️ #BBCFootball
– domingo, 25 de enero de 2026

Q: Were you disappointed with the set-pieces in the manner of the goals that you lost?

Martin O’Neill: “Oh, you’ll always be, absolutely.”

Q: Martin, when we spoke to you on Friday, you said that if you’d lost today, nine points would be a really big gap. Do you think in that manner, especially given you had the last 15-20 minutes with 10 men, it’s a better point for you than it is for Hearts today?

Martin O’Neill: “Maybe considering the circumstances, I might not disagree with you. They had maybe the opportunity with us down to 10 men, having played on Thursday night, it might have been that chance. But in the overall take of the game, the draw probably is a fair result.”

Benjamin Nygren celebrates. Hearts v Celtic, 25 January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou.

Q: How do you think it leaves the title race in general?

Martin O’Neill: “Well, we had one minute to three, we had a tough time, and we still have a tough time. It’s another game gone past, but we’re still in it.”

Q: Martin, are you slightly worried? The games are coming fast. Are you worried that this team is running fumes about this now?

Martin O’Neill: “Yes, it is a concern. We played 60 minutes or something like that there on Thursday evening with 10 men. Not as long obviously today, but an important thing psychologically as much as physically. But they’ve shown great resolve, I must admit, really terrific resolve.”

Q: We keep asking about transfers, but do you still feel there’s room for three or four players to come in next week?

Martin O’Neill: “I don’t know about your numbers, but definitely we would need some people in.”

Derek McInnes, Hearts v Celtic, 25 January 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou.

Q: Derek McInnes came running to the dugout after the first goal, do you know what he was annoyed about?

Martin O’Neill: “He didn’t say anything to me. I don’t know, genuinely.”

Q: Kieran Tierney took a sore one, how is he?

Martin O’Neill: “He’s pretty sore, we’ll see how he is for Thursday.”

Q: Who would be your left-back on Thursday then with Saracchi still not back?

Martin O’Neill: “Me. Coming in there, going to make a comeback. We’ll just have to probably shift somebody over.”

Q: I know the state of Scottish football isn’t your responsibility, but the excitement…

Martin O’Neill: “You didn’t come all this way, Michael, to tell me that, did you?

Q: The excitement of a three-way title race, is it good to be part of that? Can you see that it stimulates?

Martin O’Neill: “I think, yes, obviously I’m manager of Celtic, so maybe don’t say it like that. But when I wasn’t manager of Celtic, I thought it was a really good thing. Yeah, and I said so, so I think that… And it does stimulate interest, it’s great to see the crowd today, absolutely. I’m not saying that Hearts don’t get full houses they do. It’s been a great run by them, they’re doing brilliantly.”