Martin O’Neill responds to Celtic boos after damaging Ferencvaros defeat | OneFootball

Martin O’Neill insists he understands the Celtic supporters’ frustration after his side were booed following a 3-1 defeat to Ferencvaros at Parkhead.

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill 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 Hoops boss demanded a reaction following Sunday’s 3-0 Premier Sports Cup defeat to Rangers at Ibrox, but instead watched Celtic suffer another damaging loss.

Ferencvaros had already threatened before Bamidele Yusuf opened the scoring after 20 minutes, with his effort taking a deflection off Liam Scales before beating Viljami Sinisalo.

Mika Baur restored parity shortly before half-time after Kieran Tierney picked out the midfielder, but Celtic were level for only a matter of minutes.

Yusuf got the better of Tierney before playing the ball through Callum McGregor’s legs, allowing skipper Kristoffer Zachariassen to finish from close range.

Former Celtic winger Daniel Arzani then made it 3-1 just two minutes into the second half, cutting in from the left before firing beyond Sinisalo on his return to Parkhead.

O’Neill made several changes as Celtic attempted to find a route back into the game, but the Hoops were unable to mount a serious comeback as frustration grew inside Celtic Park.

Boos greeted the final whistle, but O’Neill says that type of reaction from the Parkhead crowd is nothing new to him.

Speaking post-match, O’Neill told BBC Sportsound: “I’ve been here 20-25 years ago, where the crowd can react like that, there. So it’s it’s it’s genuinely nothing new to me.

“At the end of it all, I think that they were showing a lot of frustration as well too. There are times when when we had the ball, we look as if we were going forward, the next thing you know, we put two passes backwards.

“So those things definitely frustrate you, and that’s something we’ll have to try and iron out.”

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