Celtic's Response to Ibrox Collapse: O'Neill's Challenge
Martin O’Neill has challenged his Celtic players to let the sting of their Ibrox collapse drive them through a pivotal week in the season.
Beaten 3-0 by Rangers on Sunday, bruised in both scoreline and pride, Celtic have no time to lick their wounds. A European tie looms on Thursday. Another Glasgow derby follows at Celtic Park on Sunday. The response, O’Neill insists, will say everything about this squad.
“You have to hurt a bit. You have to hurt a lot, I think,” he told Celtic Player, laying bare the mindset he demands. “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 cut deep, something is wrong.
A Week That Will Test Celtic’s Nerve
The fixture list offers no comfort, only a challenge. European football on Thursday. Rangers again on Sunday. Then a pause.
For O’Neill, that international break is not a chance to switch off, but a window for the squad players left at Lennoxtown to look in the mirror.
“A big game coming up on Thursday, a big, big game on Sunday, then an international break,” he said. “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.”
The demand is individual responsibility. Not slogans, not noise. Actions.
O’Neill’s Tribute to Danny McGrain
Before dissecting the football, O’Neill’s thoughts turned to a figure who helped shape Celtic’s identity long before this current group pulled on the shirt.
News of Danny McGrain’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis has shaken the club. O’Neill worked alongside the Celtic icon during his first spell as manager and spoke with obvious admiration.
“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,” he said.
The respect ran deeper than just coaching-room memories.
“He was just a brilliant player, a great defender, and certainly going forward, he could cause havoc.”
In a week when Celtic must show backbone and character, O’Neill’s praise for McGrain felt like more than nostalgia. It sounded like a reminder of the standards that once defined this club.
Turning from Ibrox to Europe
Attention now swings to Thursday’s European assignment, the first chance to scrub away the stain of Ibrox and reset the mood before Rangers arrive in the east end of Glasgow.
“It’d be nice to get off to a decent start,” O’Neill said. “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.”
The order is set. Hurt, react, then face Rangers again.
How Celtic handle that sequence will tell O’Neill – and everyone else – whether Sunday’s defeat was a warning shot or the start of something far more troubling.
