Celtic's Challenge: Martin O’Neill Vows to Get Team Right After Old Firm Defeat
Martin O’Neill has promised Celtic will “get ourselves right” as the club tries to shake off the sting of Sunday’s bruising Old Firm defeat to Rangers.
The Scottish champions were taken apart 3-0 at Ibrox in a Scottish League Cup tie that has piled early-season pressure on O’Neill and his squad. Now they must respond quickly, with a Europa League opener against Hungarian side Ferencvaros at Parkhead on Thursday, before Rangers arrive in Glasgow’s east end for a league rematch on Sunday.
Two games. One furious fanbase. No margin for another misstep.
“Every game that Celtic lose, there’s a crisis, and of course even bigger if you lose to Rangers, so we’ve done enough talking about it,” O’Neill said at his pre-match press conference on Wednesday, cutting through the noise that has swirled since the derby collapse.
“Our players are disappointed with the performance, we could have done better, I think we accept that, and we just apply ourselves now again for the league fixtures.”
A quick chance to repair the damage
The calendar has handed Celtic a rare opportunity: a European night to reset, then an immediate shot at revenge against their oldest rivals.
O’Neill, now in his second full-time spell in charge, knows exactly what is at stake. The 74-year-old did not try to sugarcoat what happened at Ibrox or the reaction it provoked.
“We were disappointed ourselves, we disappointed the fans and now we just have to rise to the occasion,” he said. “We’ve got two matches in which to do so before the break. Two big games for us, Ferencvaros will not be easy, but we’ve done it before, we’ll get ourselves right.”
The message is clear: no excuses, no hiding place, and very little time to dwell.
Old Firm baptism for new faces
Five of O’Neill’s starting XI at Ibrox were tasting an Old Firm match for the first time, a brutal introduction to one of world football’s most unforgiving fixtures.
“I think it was an eye opener to some of the newer lads,” O’Neill admitted. “We’ve got to find out about players, about whether they’re capable of dealing with these games. Hopefully, over the course of time, they will be.”
That learning curve now accelerates. Ferencvaros on Thursday will test Celtic’s nerve in Europe; Rangers on Sunday will test their character at home.
By the time the international break arrives, everyone will know a lot more about this Celtic side – and about whether O’Neill’s promise to “get ourselves right” is a rallying cry or a warning that went unheeded.
