Celtic's Dominance Under Martin O’Neill: Key Forwards Shine
Celtic’s ruthless edge under Martin O’Neill shows no sign of softening, and two of his forwards are driving the charge.
Camilo Durán has exploded into life in Glasgow. Six goals in seven games in all competitions, three of them in his last two Scottish Premiership outings. He is averaging a goal every 97 minutes in a Celtic shirt, the kind of return that turns a new signing into a focal point almost overnight.
On the opposite flank of the attack, Benjamin Nygren is stitching everything together. Five goal involvements in Celtic’s four league fixtures this season – three goals, two assists – underline his influence. His record in the Premiership tells its own story: he has scored or assisted against 10 of the 11 sides he has faced. The only club to keep him quiet? St. Mirren, across three separate meetings.
That is the puzzle in front of him now.
O’Neill’s perfect record
If Nygren is still looking for his first direct contribution against St. Mirren, his manager certainly isn’t searching for solutions in this fixture.
Under Martin O’Neill, Celtic have faced St. Mirren seven times in all competitions. Seven wins. A combined score of 16-2. It is dominance with a cold, statistical edge.
Within Celtic’s long history, only three managers boast a better combination of frequency and perfection against a single opponent:
- Jock Stein, who won all 11 of his games against Raith Rovers.
- Brendan Rodgers, nine wins from nine against Hamilton Academical.
- Ange Postecoglou, eight from eight against Ross County.
O’Neill’s run against St. Mirren now sits firmly in that elite company.
Relentless Hoops, resurgent Saints
Celtic arrive on a surge. They have won each of their last 11 league matches, sweeping aside all four opponents so far this season. Since the start of last term, O’Neill’s league record reads: 23 wins from 27, with just two draws and two defeats. That works out at 2.63 points per game, title-winning form in any era.
St. Mirren, though, are no longer the soft touch their reputation once suggested. They have taken four wins and two draws from their last six league fixtures, a sharp upturn compared to the previous 20 matches, when they managed only three victories alongside four draws and 13 defeats. The numbers point to a side that has found resilience and rhythm at last.
History at the top end of the table adds another twist. When the team starting the day in second has hosted the league leaders in the Scottish Premiership, the side in second has won three of the last five such encounters, drawing one and losing just once. That recent pattern is stronger than the nine equivalent fixtures before it, which produced only two wins for the home side in second.
So Celtic bring form, firepower and a manager with a flawless record in this fixture. St. Mirren bring momentum, a hardened edge and the weight of a trend that has recently favoured the chasers at home.
Somewhere in the middle of all that, Nygren still has one gap on his personal hit list.
