Martin O’Neill – Nothing imminent on new signings, Jota out for season

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The Celtic Star

·13 gennaio 2026

Martin O’Neill – Nothing imminent on new signings, Jota out for season

Martin O’Neill was talking football again this afternoon at his pre-match mainstream media conference at Lennoxtown earlier today ahead of tomorrow night’s trip to the Falkirk Stadium and after the bizarre experience of listening to Wilfried Nancy sitting in that chair, it a real pleasure to listen to the veteran Celtic manager and club legend talking about Celtic.

Celtic Manager Martin O’Neill speaks at a mainstream conference on Tuesday 6th January 2026 at Lennoxtown after returning to the club following the sacking of Wifred Nancy. Photo Andy Buchanan Shutterstock

OneFootball Video

Here’s everything that was said…

Q: How’s it been this week? You had a good win obviously, isn’t it nice to have that to start off?

Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, it’s been really good, played really well in the game as well too. So, the players are in fine form, it was nice to see them. Obviously it’s a major game for us tomorrow night, and we’ll see how we can do.”

Q: There’s a lot of focus on reverting to what you had before this season. You know that you’re here until the end of the season, or at least that’s the plan. Have you seen things you want to improve now? Things to try and take this team even beyond where it was before?

Martin O’Neill: “Of course, yeah. I think that you could ask any manager at this given stage of the season, particularly if they know that, well, I’m down to the end of the season. It obviously depends on results and everything else. You know, we don’t have any midweeks, so trying to implement a style or something like this here might be a bit more difficult. It’s not something I really want to do anyway. I just wanted to revert back to what we were doing when I came in, first of all. And that was probably a bit of a back four. But yeah, of course, there are loads of things we can improve on, really. Do you know what? I think that any manager would probably say the same thing. This is far from a perfect game, and we are far from perfect.”

Q: I’m obliged to ask you every time we see you during January, where you are on transfers?

Martin O’Neill: “Nothing has changed really, even when I’ve been out of the game. The January transfer window is pretty difficult because unless you’ve identified a player that you absolutely know is going to improve your team, and that you’re prepared to spend money on him, I think it becomes more difficult. I’m stepping in here. I think I might have said to you a couple of weeks ago that the new manager would have wanted to have the January transfer window so that he could identify players for his particular system. Now, we are genuinely working really hard in the background, so there’s no impediment in that sense. It’s just trying to get some people in that we think could help us now, at least, until the end of the season.”

Q: Is it at the stage where you’re getting players presented to you to make a judgement on? Or has it not quite reached that stage yet?

Martin O’Neill: “No, no. Essentially, that’s true. That is true, yes. I have discarded some, but I think that is true. Famous last words, but we are making progress, or we think we are. But, you know, you’re talking about agreements with clubs, if that’s the case, for a start, number one. And then, secondly, with the players themselves, and then players finding out that there’s interest elsewhere. So you’re competing. All those particular things come into consideration, which is no surprise to me, in that sense. I know you’re thinking, well, we’re halfway through January now. But we are, I think that we’re relatively close, but those are famous last words.”

Jota at the Premier Sports Cup Final. 14 December 2025. St Mirren v Celtic. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Do you have a number of players you’re looking to bring in?

Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, I think, yeah. Obviously, I’d like to bolster the squad. I don’t see, for instance, in terms of the long-term injuries, I don’t see Jota being back this season. I think that Alistair Johnston probably would make a fight back, and he’s hoping to be maybe sometime in March, and that would be great if that’s the case. But the longer-term injuries, I don’t see. In terms of maybe numbers, if you wouldn’t mind haiving a few, but I’m saying that there, just to try and get a bit of quality.”

Q: Is the forward area one you specifically need to strengthen?

Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, I think that’s pretty obvious, yeah, that we would be looking in that direction.”

Q: Is there anything you can tell us about Stephen Welsh’s return? What’s the club’s thinking there?

Martin O’Neill: “Well, number one, he’s our player. Okay, for a start, sort of selfishly, that means something. He’s having a really great time at Motherwell, and I understand, from a playing viewpoint, that having got himself up and running and doing great at the club, that he probably didn’t really want that disturbed as much as anything else. But he’s back with us now at this minute. I think that there was a cut-off point where we could take him back and then send him back to Motherwell if that was the case. That might happen at this minute. I did speak to him yesterday, and I must admit, I haven’t realised the number of games he’s played for this club. He’s played Champions League matches as well, so that’s something that if we have, we’ve got three centre-backs at this moment, if anything happened to any of them, then we could find ourselves in a bit of trouble.”

Q: In terms of numbers, Martin, how many players have you been offered in this little period?

Martin O’Neill: “It probably would be close to the thousands, you know! A slight exaggeration, It’s when agents are working. This is the month in which they’re working. But, no, it’s not a surprise to me. It’s the same when I was involved in the game, and probably even now, if you know what I mean. So, January is when agents will want to try and push players.”

Celtic interim manager Martin O’Neill in dugout with Celtic interim assistant manager Shaun Maloney and Celtic assistant coach Gavin Strachan. Celtic v Dundee United, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 10 January 2026. Photo Stuart Wallace IMAGO/Shutterstock

Q: Have there been major changes in the transfer activity from the first time you were at Celtic?

Martin O’Neill: “No, I think it’s probably about the same. If I can recall properly, you know? But, yeah, I think it’s the same sort of difficulty getting players in. Your concern is, of course, when you get to the 2nd or 3rd of February, that’s it. So whatever you have in, you can’t change. Also, I think you’re talking about the European rules as well, too, that we have to see this competition through, which will be at the end of January. And whether we make it or don’t make it, that might have a bearing on things as well, too. If we didn’t make it we don’t have at least a couple more games to play than we do. That’s always a thought. But it’s a constant thought. It’s not a thought on the 29th or 30th of January, you know.”

Q: Do you understand the sort of anxiety levels of fans beginning to creep up as the days tick on and still they keep looking for the players?

Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, I do, I do. Yes, I understand that.”

Celtic interim manager Martin O’Neill arrives prior to the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Dundee United at Celtic Park on January 10, 2026. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: What would be your sort of message to those fans?

Martin O’Neill: “I hate sending out those messages to the fans, you know? No, we are really trying. But as I said to you, I don’t have any impediments from the board level. I think we all want to try and do something, which is great. I’m not blaming anybody. We will try and get people in. It genuinely is at this stage, even though it’s halfway through January, it is looking around to see what could fit for us as much as anything else. And we’ll see. Again, it’s not perfect. We might end up having to do some things that, you know, take somebody on loan that you think that you wouldn’t be looking to sign for three or four years, for instance. Something like that.”

Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney at Easter Road. Sunday 30 November 2025. Hibs v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: I just wonder, when you and Shaun Maloney came in again for the second time, it was just after Paul Tisdale had left as Head of Football Operations. Has that impeded you slightly?

Martin O’Neill: “No, not really. I’m not going to blame anyone for that. No, that’s not the case. I have an idea about a player, and things are being presented to me. Now, of course, I would like to act more quickly. I think I’m trying to do that. And then I obviously have the other things to deal with, you know, the clubs and then the players themselves. And some people that I would really like may choose to go elsewhere. So all of that, yeah. Perhaps maybe if I myself had a bit more preparation for it, then maybe it could have worked a bit more quickly.”

Q: Just in terms of, you said earlier you were close on a signing in one of the answers. Are you close to unveiling players? Are players imminent?

Martin O’Neill: “Honestly, I have more to think about just at this minute. The Falkirk game is big for us. A big match for us. A team that’s flying at the moment.”

John McGlynn manager of Falkirk during the Premier League match between Celtic and Falkirk at Celtic Park on October 29, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: What else do you expect from Falkirk?

Martin O’Neill: “Just a really tough game. A really tough match. I felt that even when we won, which was my opening game of the last period in charge, I thought they were very strong. We got a couple of goals at important moments, and obviously that would deflate them a little bit. But, yeah, I have the utmost regard for their manager John McGlynn and the job that he’s done now. And they’re flying.”

Q: I just wanted to ask you, last week you said training was fine. It was just fine, when you came in, before your first game last week. After the win over the weekend, has training changed?

Martin O’Neill: “I’m careful, really, because I’ve had this experience before. You leave a football club, and a new manager comes in, and he boasts about how great the training session is the following day, and the players are upbeat and all that type of stuff, which is usually a load of nonsense. And I think that’s sort of the want to ingratiate himself with whoever, maybe his employers, and things like that. I don’t know. The training, that’s why I said it’s fine. It is fine. The players just seem to be in a good mood. They seem to be in a good mood.

Celtic players celebrate Yang Hyun-Jun’s opening goal during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Dundee United at Celtic Park on January 10, 2026 . (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

‘But then I don’t know what a bad mood is, in that sense. Because when I came in here before, Brendan had resigned from the football club. I think the players were in a bit of shock. There was a bit of tension along the way, beforehand. But I still think that the players were really surprised that Brendan left. So I stepped in. A lot of the players, as I said to you, wouldn’t have known who I was. So it was all a trying-to-get-to-know-you sort of situation. But in the meantime, trying to win some games. Now, coming in this time, I feel as if I obviously know the players much, much better. So from that viewpoint, yeah, I’ll not go overboard about training being super, super, super. It’s fine.”

Auston Trusty arrives at Easter Road. Sunday 30 November 2025. Hibs v Celtic, Scottish Premiership. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Have you got any more injuries to consider? There was an online talk about Auston Trusty?

Martin O’Neill: “No, no, he’s okay. He’s trained this morning. He’s fine. And yeah, everybody’s okay.

Celtic FC once again excluded all Celtic fan media from today’s media conference with the ban also extending to the women’s game.

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