The Celtic Sunrise- A Martin O’Neill production

Three weeks ago, I wrote about noise. About how Scottish football loses its head every September. About the difference between early-season form and what actually sustains across thirty-eight games.

Some called it arrogance. A few told me I “couldn’t see the reality.”

But I can see reality. That’s exactly the point.

I’m part of the Celtic Fans Collective. I’ve been critical of this board long before it became a movement, I know exactly who’s responsible for the chaos we’ve endured this season. But boardroom dysfunction and on-field structural reality are different things. You can see both. The failures at the top don’t erase the patterns on the pitch. If you think calling out media narratives and fan hysteria makes me a board apologist, you’re barking up the wrong tree entirely.

The question isn’t whether I see reality. It’s what you’re actually looking at.

THE PATTERN HOLDS

Lawrence Shankland is out for two months. Cammy Devlin likewise. Hearts’ captain and top scorer, absent until March.

This is the same week Celtic signed Tomas Cvancara on loan from Borussia Mönchengladbach until the end of the season.

I’m not making a point about squad depth or transfer budgets. That’s not what this is about. It’s about what happens when you watch patterns over time rather than react to each week’s emotional temperature.

THE O’NEILL REALITY

Martin O’Neill came in as interim on October 7th. Celtic were eight points behind Hearts. By December 15th, when he handed over to Wilfried Nancy after beating Dundee 1-0, Celtic were level on points with Hearts at the top of the table.

Eight points to level. In two months. Unbeaten domestically.

Nancy lost that momentum. The gap grew. Now O’Neill is back – Interim 2.0 – and it’s three domestic wins from three. Four-nil against Dundee United. One-nil away at Falkirk. Two-nil away at Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup.

The players know only one thing under him: they win. No baggage. No crisis. Just results.

We go into Sunday’s game six points behind. Twenty-two games played each. When O’Neill first arrived in October, it was eight points. These aren’t insurmountable gaps. They never were.

MENTALITY

Here’s what doesn’t get discussed enough. Hearts are out of the Scottish Cup. First round. Just like they went out of the League Cup early. Their entire season is now the league, it always has been. Just the league. No distractions. Full focus.

Celtic are still in the Scottish Cup. Still in the Europa League – drew 2-2 away at Bologna. Lost a League Cup final under Nancy, yes, but they got there. They’re competing on multiple fronts, travelling across Europe, managing squad rotation.

And they’re still grinding. Still six points behind with momentum building.

That’s not luck, that’s institutional mentality. That’s what happens when a club knows how to sustain across all competitions, all fixtures, all weather.

THE LENS

Here’s what interests me about the responses to that first piece. Celtic fans complain endlessly that the media hates them, that it’s “anyone but Celtic.” Then those same fans panic when the media tells them Hearts are genuine contenders.

You can’t have both. Either the Scottish media has an agenda or you believe them when they construct the narrative you fear most.

I don’t listen to it. Not the callers on Clyde SSB talking about canters, not the commentators who sound deflated when Hearts go behind. Not the annual September hysteria.

The sun rises every morning. Not because anyone wills it. Because that’s what happens based on observable reality.

Celtic will win this league. Not because of entitlement. Because the evidence points to it happening exactly as it always does.

WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED

Hearts beat Celtic twice this season. Took twelve points off the Glasgow clubs. Those points are real. They count.

But they dropped points to St Mirren. To Motherwell. Teams they have to beat consistently. Then came the Hibs derby. Three down in no time. Two late goals that only showed the scramble.

All that gap. All that noise. And here we are. Six points. Twenty-two games each. One fixture on Sunday that could make it three.

That’s not a chasm. It’s fragility.

Last season Hearts were near the bottom. You don’t go from relegation anxiety to champions in one summer. Not without becoming fundamentally different. They’re not there yet.

“It was a magnificent effort from the team”

Martin O’Neill praises his players for their performance away to Bologna…

🎙️ @missconniemac

📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/XQ5UHMWb5V

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) January 22, 2026

PATTERNS

Some people watch football through perpetual highs and lows. Every result is destiny or crisis. The emotional swing is the point.

Others watch through the Scottish media lens, where “anyone but Celtic” shapes every narrative, every talking point, every manufactured moment of drama.

I watch what actually happens. Year after year.

Teams have good runs. The country loses its head. By November we’re told this time is different. By January the cracks show, by March it’s done.

Hearts are having an excellent season. Genuinely impressive in stretches. But impressive form isn’t the same as championship capacity across all fixtures, all circumstances, all competitions.

Celtic, even in dysfunction – boardroom chaos, summer turbulence, two managerial changes mid-season – have maintained a baseline that kept them competitive. When O’Neill arrived they were eight behind. By the time he left they were level. Nancy let it slip to six. Now O’Neill is back and it’s three wins from three.

That’s not arrogance. It’s what the evidence shows.

SUNDAY AT TYNECASTLE

Maybe Hearts hold firm at home, maybe Shankland’s absence doesn’t matter. Maybe this is the season the pattern breaks.

Or maybe the sunrise continues exactly as it always has.

Not because Celtic are supposed to win. Because when you look at what teams actually do over full seasons rather than what the noise suggests they might do, the pattern is unmistakable.

The rest is noise. And noise doesn’t win leagues.

Consistency does. Grinding through February and March does. The capacity to absorb setbacks and continue does. The mentality to compete on multiple fronts and still come back does.

Based on evidence, not narrative, only one team in Scotland demonstrates all of that.

The sun rises. The sun sets. Celtic win the league.

Some people see reality. Others see what they want reality to be.

I know which one I’m looking at.