“Keep on winning,” Martin O’Neill’s message to Wilfried Nancy

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The Celtic Star

·29 novembre 2025

“Keep on winning,” Martin O’Neill’s message to Wilfried Nancy

Martin O’Neill delivered his best media conference yesterday ahead of his final match in interim charge of Celtic, at Easter Road tomorrow lunchtime in the Scottish Premiership…

Martin O’Neill, Manager of Celtic, looks on prior to the UEFA Europa League 2025/26 League Phase MD5 match between Feyenoord and Celtic FC at De Kuip on November 27, 2025 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)

The Celtic legend will be looking to finish with a flourish looking for the same kind of performance and result that he coaxed out of the Celtic squad in Rotterdam on Thursday night against Feyenoord in the Europa League.

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On Monday he will pass the Celtic reigns to Wilfried Nancy who will have noted the improving circumstances that he’ll be walking into as the Irishman navigated his way through November quite brilliantly, making significant progress in three competitions, the league, Premier Sports Cup and also in European competition.

He’s certainly enjoyed it, perhaps even more that he’s let on, and by his final pre-match media conference as Celtic’s interim manager, he was able to reflect on it all.

Celtic interim manager Martin O’Neill during the Premier League match between Celtic and Kilmarnock at Celtic Park on November 09, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

“I went to a seminar about four months ago, maybe less. The young coaches were asking me about management and I was giving advice,” Martin said.

“I said to them: ‘You’ve all got their own method of coaching, we are all sat here with all four different ideas about how to coach. But there is an important element – just win’. So that was my great advice to them, just win.

“I think they were asking for a bit more than that, but that was all I gave them. That’s what I said, just win. The new manager is the board’s choice to keep on winning. And he wants to come, which is absolutely vitally important,” the Celtic legend noted.

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Wilfried Nancy, Head Coach of Columbus Crew SC, looks on during the MLS match between New England Revolution and Columbus Crew at Gillette Stadium on March 01, 2025 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

And it’s exactly the same message he’ll be giving to Wilfried Nancy if his opinion is sought by the incoming Celtic manager. “I’m sure he’ll get into his stride. He’s managed, he knows how to manage,” O’Neill said.

On whether coming back to answer Celtic’s call in an hour of need, endangers his already well established legendary status at Celtic, O’Neill was clear that this was not a concern of his at any stage. However he acknowledged that there were risks involved in agreeing on an interim return to Celtic two decades after leaving the club in 2005.

Martin O’Neill of Celtic applauds the fans after winning his last game in charge, The Tennents Scottish Cup Final between Celtic and Dundee United, at Hampden Park on May 28, 2005. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

“I did take a risk but the risk was not about my legacy. I couldn’t care less about my legacy. The risk was coming back and not doing well. That is the risk you always take in management,” Martin said.

“Would I have taken the same opportunity at some other club? I’m not sure, particularly when you have no time to prepare. It wasn’t as if I was coming in during pre-season and getting ready and getting to know players.

“I stepped in and the first time I saw all of those players together was on the Wednesday morning before the Falkirk game. That was the risk, especially as the players had lost a couple of games and the confidence wasn’t so high.

Jock Stein, stadium image at Celtic Park, 2018. Photo Imago

“But I don’t worry about legacy. If you want to talk about legacy, just talk about Jock Stein – the rest of us are just followers after that. The worry for me was about not doing well. Can I manage? I think I can manage, believe it or not.”

We think so too Martin, in fact you’re up there with the very best, maybe just a step behind Big Jock who won the Greatest Prize.

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