Martin O’Neill’s first time in charge of Celtic got off to a flyer, but we hit a bumpy patch in November 2000. Rangers extracted significant revenge for their 6-2 defeat at Celtic Park earlier in the season, beating O’Neill’s team 5-1 at Ibrox. What made it worse, was that David Murray had splashed £12m on Tore Andre Flo three days earlier, with the Norwegian scoring on his debut. 26 years later, Flo is still the most expensive signing in Scottish football history (we could talk all night about that one).
‘The past is a foreign country’ and for anyone below the age of 40 it will be difficult to understand just how overwhelming Rangers ability to spend their way to success was for Celtic fans. It was reckless, sure, but Celtic were also overspending during this period, just so dangerously and not enough to follow the lemming over the cliff. Rangers were still 12 years from liquidation, with no guarantee that some structural change to income would not come to their rescue.
In that context, our next game was away to Hibernian, which ended in a 0-0 draw. 5 points dropped in two games, our early season hopes were significantly dented. Post-match at Easter Road, Martin O’Neill was pragmatic, “It was important not to lose the game”. That comment stuck with me, as it felt to me that it was important to win the game, dropping another two points just piled on the misery.
Martin knew that defeats compound. One loss makes the next game more likely to result in the same outcome. Even a hard fought draw allows a manager to look his players in the eye after the game and contain the damage.
That sentiment came back to me twice in recent weeks. When Dundee levelled Benjamin Nygren’s opener at Dens in April, the pressure felt overwhelming. We had suffered defeat to Dundee United on the same street one week earlier and title credentials were hanging by a thread.
Martin O’Neill contains the squad’s anxiety, “It’s important take something from the game”, helps players a whole lot more than that unhelpful idea football people often pretend is true, “Winning is a must”. We could have done with some of this thinking in season 2020-21.
The other time I thought back to Martin’s comments that day at Easter Road was when watching Hearts play Newco earlier this month. Danny Rohl’s side had lost the previous week to Motherwell and were full of “five cup finals” chat. Winning at Hearts felt like an absolute, whereas a draw would have left them with a sporting chance of the title. Instead, defeats compounded. Celtic remained calm at Dens in April, with Kelechi Iheanacho scoring the winner 8 minutes from time. Martin’s psychological containment played its part.
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Gilmour out World Cup keep phone switched off Callum
Joe
London
Paris
Lisbon
Madrid
Amsterdam
Bucharest
Milan
Belgrade.
Oops fooked that up.I 🤣
BRRB
Good going John…..yes, you know Milan wasn’t .
Benfica, PSG, Chelsea,Steau Bucharest, Real Madrid, Red Star Belgrade?
Amsterdam isnt the Dutch capital
Dessybhoy
Although the seat of government is the Hague – Amsterdam is the capital
Dessybhoy
Don’t rain on my parade. 🤣
The Hague seat of government.
Amsterdam capital.
Arsenal would get football banned. Spent 100s of millions to put on that pish, week in, week out.
Thank You, PSG. You have saved football.
Brrb
No danger.
And he thinks they should have had a penalty, expect this will be the hot topic until the world Cup begins
Dessybhoy
They’ll still be greetin about us in the next world Cup.🤣
Evening, all.
Well done PSG
UTE
never a pen for the arsenal
winger hooks his arm around the defenders first
enjoy your misery
https://x.com/ultras_antifaa/status/2060826257105830251/photo/2
ziggydoc1 on 30th May 2026 6:11 pm
Why’s isn’t wee Sally a football manager? He sounds like he thinks he knows what he’s talking about 🤔
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Going by that logic Mr Stein must must’ve been educated by Peter the pointer Grant, Celtic TV’s permanent resident expert.
What a time to be alive watching CTV brainwash the easily manipulated squadrons none of them with any clue.
I see the ‘fan violence’ has continued to spread, from Celtic Park, along to the Trongate now has reached Paris, what are those pesky Celtic supporters like?
Morning all.
For McPhail Bhoy.
https://x.com/i/status/2060832689490473448
Good morning all from old Glasgow Town.
I assume all the talk in France today is to strip PSG of the trophy and deduct points from them for start of next season? All that violence surely has to be the club’s fault?
Belmontbrian
Thanks for that!
Ben Lomond
by Kathleen Jamie
The Bonniest Companie, 2015
Thae laddies in the Celtic shirts,
a baker’s dozen
lumbering all the way to the summit cairn
the hot last Saturday of May
as larks trilled
and the loch-side braes released their midgies…
Well, up at the raven-haunted trig-point
(as the sun shone bright o’er the whole lower Clyde)
they unfurled a banner,
and triumphant-sombre, ranked themselves behind it
for the photies,
‘R.I.P.’ it read, then the name of a wee boy
they’ll never meet again. Ach,
would the wean were playing fit-ba
on some bonny banks somewhere…
There’s no accounting for it, is there?
I mean the low road, and the high.
TBB
Very poignant – and a reminder of what really matters,
McPhail Bhoy on 31st May 2026 6:09 am
I see the ‘fan violence’ has continued to spread, from Celtic Park, along to the Trongate now has reached Paris, what are those pesky Celtic supporters like?
—————————————————————————————————————————————————
Its a new phenomenon – “The Fenian Spring”
From John Paul Dykes
Might not fit the narrative……
Whilst we’re on the subject of sabotage…
Before agreeing to return, Rodgers was assured that recruitment had improved since his first tenure.
Remember that first window? £19m spent on 10 players. Nothing had changed. We were still on the hunt for cheap punts.
He wanted centre-backs with pace for the Champions League. Mark Lawwell delivered Maik Nawrocki & Gustaf Lagerbielke – two players who had no pace.
We sold Jota & Abada, but failed to adequately replace them.
Joe Hart announced his retirement in February 2024, yet we had no replacement lined up five months later when Rodgers had to personally contact Kasper Schmeichel and do the recruitment team’s job for them.
On to the second season, where we actually showed some ambitious intent in the summer window. The fact we were without a Head of Football at that time due to the departure of Mark Lawwell may have been coincidental.
We sold Matt O’Riley and then Kyogo in January, but failed to adequately replace them.
Then came the third season, where we were dreadfully ill-prepared for the Champions League, failing to negotiate the qualifiers for the 7th time in 9 attempts.
We sold Kuhn, but failed to adequately replace him (do you see the trend developing here?).
We kept Maeda when his head was already in Wolfsburg.
We sold Idah, messed up the Dolberg deal, then had to go back to the Rodgers Rolodex to bring in Iheanacho.
When Rodgers eventually spoke out about this amateur approach to recruitment, someone at the club briefed against him to the worst tabloid rag imaginable.
You may well have a predetermined view on Brendan Rodgers, but he wasn’t the one sabotaging Celtic. If you believe that, you’ll agree with every word of Desmond’s statement obliterating the man on his departure – a statement that remains a stain on Celtic’s reputation.
The target of our disdain should be fully focused on those in the boardroom who are incapable of progressing our football club, not on managers trying to achieve success to a backdrop of chaos and dysfunction.
Apologies
Paul John Dykes.
And if the board think MON’s double has saved them, they had better think again.
ALL fans should be disgusted at how they have wrecked Celtic’s footballing operation.
It’s time for the board lovers to wake up and smell the coffee.
Although, I suspect many of them were jobsworth’s or arse lickers during their own working days.
No manager in place despite Nancy departing in January and Martin recruited on a temporary basis.
Don’t worry DD was going to have a chat with Martin last week but it’s now going to be this week.
Everything we do is world class.
There’s a MSc in Cognitive Psychology to be had in researching the oft expressed view that Brendan Rodgers was singularly responsible for all the good things that happened during his time as manager of Celtic, while all the bad things that happened were entirely someone else’s fault.
It takes a true disciple to believe in the man’s apodeictic flawlessness.
TBB
There’s plenty of blame to go around – Brendan has gone but the board are still majorly in tact. At this moment in time it looks like no lessons have been learned.
TBB
Equally there’s an degree available for those who believe it’s all Brendan’s fault.
The Keane dossier,
Irish ✅
Plays gowf ✅
A cheap option ✅
Will do what he’s told ✅
Will take cheap players for development ✅
Will work without a recruitment team ✅
Sorted CSC
Been on hols past 2 weeks, back home to sunny (ahem) EK tomorrow. Starting to feel more than a bit worried that no manager is in place and talks appear to be only about to kick off if reports are true. I really did think we would have been on the front foot this time round but looks like we are dancing, once again, to Despot Desmond’s tune.
Darren Fletcher Ally McCoist Steven Gerrard ,
A contest of insufferables, a trio of trumpets all intent on making a bad game worse. The luck of the Irish having RTE, and saving themselves from the Britfest.
Steven fresh from managerial flop after flop, McCoist still stinging from his Annan bum feeling, now wants VAR banned in Scotland. All three wanted Arsenal to have a penalty because PSG got one, and that’s just not fair VAR must intervene.
Same old Alloa always cheating CSC
No panic Bhoys, Daddy Despot Desmond has all of it in hand.
Too many bedwetters and miscreants who fail to give him and his world class sycophants credit for another double.
Good afternoon CQN
Another fine day to be a Celt.
Celtic – champions
Celtic – Cup Winners
That won’t get old for me any time soon.
McPhail Bhoy on 31st May 2026 6:09 am
I see the ‘fan violence’ has continued to spread, from Celtic Park, along to the Trongate now has reached Paris, what are those pesky Celtic supporters like?
———
🤣🤣🤣
🤔🤔🤔
Interesting to see one poster who was notably quiet when the league and cup double was being heroically won .. now posting with much greater frequency.
Tea break is over lads.
Start up the rebellion again.
🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱🥱
Change is required.
Online snarling and name calling
Public laments for dear departed manager
Faux intellectualism while gathering clicks
Lobbing tennis balls and tangerines
… none of the above will get it done.