Celtic's Challenge After Ibrox Defeat: Rise Above the Pain

Martin O’Neill has thrown down a challenge to his Celtic players: let the pain of Ibrox drive the response to come.

Beaten 3-0 by Rangers on Sunday, bruised in scoreline and in pride, Celtic now walk straight back into the fire. European football on Thursday. Another Glasgow derby at Celtic Park on Sunday. No time to lick wounds. No hiding place.

For O’Neill, that’s exactly how it should be.

“You have to hurt a bit. You have to hurt a lot, I think,” he told Celtic Player, reflecting on the defeat. “That’s the way that I spent my career. I probably overindulged in the hurting aspect of the game, but the games have to hurt you both as a player and as a manager.

“After that, then you go and rise above it again. That defines you as much as anything else.”

The message is clear: if Sunday didn’t sting, something is wrong. If it did, now is the moment to show it.

Hurt, then respond

Celtic’s performance at Ibrox left questions hanging over the squad. O’Neill isn’t ducking them. He wants his players to confront the defeat head-on, then use it as fuel.

“We’ve had the setback on Sunday, something that you have to, first of all, look at it,” he said. The examination comes first, the reaction next. For O’Neill, that reaction must be visible on Thursday night and again when Rangers come to the east end of Glasgow.

The calendar offers no gentle reset. It offers a test of character.

A European assignment stands between Celtic and their shot at derby redemption. O’Neill knows the importance of starting that mini-run the right way.

“It’d be nice to get off to a decent start,” he said of Thursday’s tie. “It won’t be easy. Nothing is, I don’t think. Nor should it be, really.

“At the end of the day, it’s a European game. Hopefully, we can be up for the game and be ready for the game and then after that, you can concentrate then on Sunday.”

One result won’t erase the memory of Ibrox. Two big performances, back-to-back, might just reframe the narrative.

Space to think at Lennoxtown

Beyond this intense week, the international break looms. For some, it means travel and national duty. For others, it means time alone with their thoughts at Lennoxtown.

O’Neill sees value in that pause.

“A big game coming up on Thursday, a big, big game on Sunday, then an international break,” he said. “And it gives you a chance for the non-international players to take stock of what’s happened and say, well, listen, what can I do?

“What can I do better? What can I do now to help the team? What can I do to help myself? Obviously, if you can do those things, then you’re going to help the club.”

That’s the internal conversation he wants echoing around the training ground. Not excuses. Not self-pity. Solutions.

A word for Danny McGrain

Before delving into tactics and mentality, O’Neill paused to acknowledge a figure who embodies Celtic’s standards.

He paid tribute to club legend Danny McGrain following the announcement of his Alzheimer’s diagnosis, speaking with obvious warmth about a man he worked alongside during his first spell in charge.

“Danny was here at Celtic working with the reserves when I came here in my first spell, but just a phenomenal footballer and a really great character,” O’Neill said.

The respect runs deep, on and off the pitch.

“He was just a brilliant player, a great defender, and certainly going forward, he could cause havoc.”

On a week when Celtic are being asked to show resilience, McGrain’s name carries extra weight. He played through eras of pressure and expectation, and set a standard that still hangs over the club.

Now it’s over to the current squad. A heavy defeat to Rangers, a European night to negotiate, another derby on the horizon. O’Neill has laid out the challenge: let the hurt define you, or let the response do it instead.