Celtic’s performance at Falkirk was bad enough, afterwards on media duty Martin O’Neill further lowered standards. He embarrassed himself.
Post Celtic his media options are unlikely to extend much beyond Monday morning’s with Jim White and Simon Jordan. Joining two other dinosaurs to sneer at modern football ways on TalkSPORT.
Basically O’Neill thought that Celtic played really well at Falkirk. With Sky Sports he claimed that Celtic could have scored seven goals. On Celtic TV, in a 2 minutes 4 seconds interview it was a more modest five goals. It was the last word on delusional.
True Celtic forced Scott Bain into a number of saves but almost all of them were routine and reactive. They looked good for the cameras but none were really testing.
Celtic were slow paced and predictable.
Twice during the first half Falkirk put their foot down. They attacked with purpose, cut Celtic open, forced mistakes and took their chances. Game over by half-time, no-one was expecting a Celtic comeback.
This result has been sign posted. With each passing match the 7-1 win over Hearts stands out as an anomoly. The three domestic matches since then have produced an aggregate of 4-5. A fair reflection of where Celtic are entering November.
O’NEILL KNOWS THAT HE IS FAILING
Deep down O’Neill knows that his team is failing as he is as their manager.
He won’t come out and say that. It is unrealistic to expect him to own up on his own failings but there is no excuse for going the other way.
Going on about being top of the league doesn’t cut it with supporters. Or referencing the seven goals against Hearts or last season’s title comeback.
One year after returning to Celtic as manager O’Neill is now part of the problem. He isn’t the solution, his status as a barrier to the Celtic board has almost ran out.
@ScotlandSky Please Martin, you’re starting to really grate on me. You need to go. You’ve lost the fucking plot. I absolutely love you and watching this I’m starting to really feel animosity, you’re fucking deluded. Maybe it’s age. Just go, the fans aren’t believing your shite
— Mac Dazzle (@DazzleMac) November 1, 2026
On media duties O’Neill was tetchy and confrontational. There were no gags about his age, trips down Memory Lane or mentioning the youthful looks of those asking questions.
Luke Shanley was on post-match duty for Sky Sports, he had to tread carefully
As the Sky interview drifted into the real issues there was friction on the screen, especially after the reminder of Celtic being top of the Premiership table.
Shanley: Given that though, is there still a case where you could still be better? You are top of the league but performances like today…”
O’Neill: Of course you could be better. I’m not sure about your point here. I’ve just tried to explain to you, we missed goal after goal today. Their goalkeeper was magnificent, he was man of the match.
The media world can be something of a circus. But in 2026 under silent CEO Michael Nicholson the media exchanges are the only insight that fans get into the club.
CELTIC- A CLUB FAILING AT EVERY LEVEL
Nicholson opted out of attending at Falkirk, as did interim Chairman Brian Wilson.
Unlike other clubs Celtic don’t bother with giving their manager a vote of confidence. On every issue other than tennis balls the club sees silence as a strategy.
O’Neill knows how limited Celtic’s options are as manager. And equally how limited his income options are post Celtic. It certainly won’t be in football management.
A year on he no longer has his Human Shield value to the board.
Fans are no longer prepared to overlook dire football for the novelty of seeing O’Neill in the dug-out and jousting with the media.
O’Neill is embarrassing himself, the club and the fans.
Five months ago he could have signed off with his legacy greater than it was in 2005.
He chose to go for another year of salary, it is backfiring spectacularly.
The unwanted records are piling up against O’Neill.
Five successive European defeats, 35th out of 36 in the Europa League with zero expectations of beating Beskitas on Thursday night.
It seems that denying the inevitable decision has gone on too long.
If O’Neill remains as manager following the November international break his legacy could be damaged beyond repair.
Torreense, Hearts and Dundee, all away on November 26, 29 and December 2 looks daunting. While the board search for a friendly date to stage AGM 2026.
Select Celtic365 as a “Preferred Source” on Google News for prompts to the independent news and opinions that you respect.
RELATED READING
CLICK HERE for the two faces of Andy Halliday are exposed.
CLICK HERE for Nicholson is paid FOUR TIMES as much as the Benfica CEO
