“He’s popped up again,” Martin O’Neill praises Celtic’s match winner | OneFootball

A relieved Martin O’Neill spoke to the mainstream media after Celtic picked up the crucial three points at Pittodrie with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Aberdeen with goals from Kieran Tierney and  Benjamin Nygren. Here’s everything that was said…

Pittodrie stadium. Aberdeen v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. Wednesday 4th March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

Q: How significant is your squad in getting to this stage?

Martin O’Neill: “Substitutions in recent weeks have made big contributions to us, so that’s important for us. So our third game in six days, I knew it was going to be a tough game, it proved to be, but we saw it through in the end.”

Benjamin Nygren scores. Aberdeen v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. Wednesday 4th March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

Q: There are two players significantly that I’m sure you’d want to credit for getting the win. One’s the keeper and Nygren, 19 goals, he’s very much an unsung hero in this team?

Martin O’Neill: “Well I don’t know about that, whether he is unsung in that sense, he’s doing something that is the most difficult thing in the game, to score goals. He’s popped up again, it proved to be the winning goal. The goalkeeper made a really great save and has absolutely done fine in the matches that he’s played, in all three games.”

Benjamin Nygren celebrates. Aberdeen v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. Wednesday 4th March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

Q: It looked like a really tight call for offside at Nygren’s goal?

Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, absolutely, because it took a long time. And then when the fourth official was saying to me that they’re looking at perhaps two events in the thing, but then you start to really worry about it. But thankfully we saw it through. I don’t know about you, but I thought it looked a penalty for us in the first half. You haven’t seen it yet? His hand was out there, I thought, in an unnatural position. It was a tough game, we saw it through and it keeps us going.

Benjamin Nygren celebrates. Aberdeen v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. Wednesday 4th March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

Q: Were you always confident the goal would come, Martin?

Martin O’Neill: “No, no. It’s hard to score goals. I thought that when we scored the first goal, and it came very, very early on, I thought that’s the time for us to really push forward and try and get the second goal if we can. I thought that we came off the game a little bit, allowed Aberdeen into it, they got the penalty and scored. That’s a tough old second half, you have to try and create things, you have to take risks and you have to take chances. I think that’s what you try to do, but at the same time, try and not concede a goal. That was always possible anyway. But Nygren comes out big with the goal, which was great.”

Brian Wilson, Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay at Pittodrie. Aberdeen v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. Wednesday 4th March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

Q: What did you think of James Forrest who made an impact as well?

Martin O’Neill:  “James did very well, James. Very well. He’s ready. He made the penalty for us on Sunday, and he can make an impact. I think he looks at me as if, do you think I’m really too old for proceedings like this here? But he’ll never get to my age.”

Q: On the back of the comeback on Sunday, did that feel like a big win?

Martin O’Neill:  “It was a big win. I don’t know whether you say on the back of, but it certainly helps. It keeps us, at least for a little while, it keeps us in the race.”

Q: You’re up to second as well, that’s a nice boost as well?

Martin O’Neill:  “Yeah, that’s true. I hadn’t thought about that.”

Q: What did you make of Benjamin Arthur?

Martin O’Neill:  “I thought he did fine, he stepped into the game. Half an hour beforehand his mind was thinking, I wonder will I get on at any given stage during the course of the match? And then the next thing he’s called upon to do it, to start the game. So you have to have almost a different mindset. So he comes back into the dressing room, gets himself ready, and I thought he really did fine. I think there is, whether it’s here or not, but I think there’s a definite player there.”

Q: What was the issue with Dane Murray?

Martin O’Neill:  “Dane, he felt his thigh, which is a concern for us, really.”

Q: Do you think Dane will be a doubt for Sunday?

Martin O’Neill:  “I would have to think he would be at this minute, but I don’t know at this minute. He’s just come in, he’s been treated, he’ll obviously be in for treatment tomorrow morning, and we’ll see. If you’re thinking about a thigh, I’m hoping that I’m not doom and gloom, but I’d be concerned about it.”

Kieran Tierney celebrates. Aberdeen v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. Wednesday 4th March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

Q: Is there a cause for concern that you’re letting teams get a wee grip in the game?

Martin O’Neill:  “This was going to be difficult. I’ve thought about this game obviously since Sunday was over. I felt this was always going to be difficult for us. It really was. It was the third game in six days, so it’s asking a lot, hence us using the substitutions. Sometimes it’s great that some of the substitutions have come on and the impact has been good. Sometimes it doesn’t.”

Q: Does the second half of the game, the weekend and the 95 minutes tonight, add together to give you confidence that you can get a 90-minute performance this weekend?”

Martin O’Neill:  “Wow! Oh, good Lord! Right…Good point. No idea!”

Kieran Tierney scores. Aberdeen v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. Wednesday 4th March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

Q: How are you feeling about the game this weekend?

Martin O’Neill:  “Really, I honestly have not thought about it. I’m going to watch the Aberdeen game on the bus on the way back, and then I’ll start thinking about the game for tomorrow at some stage.”

Q: Do you expect it to be much different from last weekend, given it’s a cup game and you’ve got more fans?

Martin O’Neill:  “It’s a really good point, and you’d be better equipped than me. It’s a long, long time since I’ve been to Ibrox twice in three or four days. It’s not something I thought about a couple of months ago. So I will think about it. I don’t know. I’m hoping that just the points that you’ve made, us back in the second half performance and winning tonight, I’m hoping gives us a bit of a lift going there.”

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

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