Martin O’Neill faces tough task to unite club with Celtic’s frustrated fanbase

The time on the phone says the photograph was taken at 4.47pm, May 16th. The location was Celtic Park. The subject, about 80 yards away, was the bespectacled figure of Martin O’Neill.

There he was, the 74-year-old supposedly interim manager of Celtic out on the pitch in his retro tracksuit, playing in goal as his young grandchildren scuffed in shots at their grandad. It was quite a scene – warm, quaint – and fairly remarkable considering what had just occurred, which was revealed by the previous photograph.

Taken at 2.30pm, it was of the same goalmouth in which O’Neill was now messing about. There, Callum Osmand had just scored Celtic’s third goal against Hearts to seal the Scottish Premiership title. Bedlam: Osmand was invisible, buried in a horde of celebrating players, staff and fans who had run on - unfortunately some topless.

Meanwhile, down on their knees or standing anguished, head in hands, were the defeated, broken Hearts players. After 66 years without the Scottish league title, they were three minutes away from making history, three minutes from what 2026 would label a Mayo moment. Then Daizen Maeda intervened.

Celtic claiming a 14th title in 15 seasons did not sound exceptional, but in a season made enthralling by Hearts’ unforeseen title tilt, Celtic’s Rodgers-O’Neill-Nancy-O’Neill managerial hopscotch and Rangers’ ongoing meandering, it was.

There in the midst of it all was O’Neill, being asked about “fairytales” and securing a double in the Scottish Cup final against Dunfermline and Neil Lennon a week later – which was assumed would be his last day at Celtic.

That no final whistle had been heard amid the Parkhead mayhem, and Hearts players confronted by in-your-face triumphalism on the pitch left the stadium immediately, not even changing out of their kits, was hardly O’Neill’s responsibility. Celtic did issue a formal apology the following day, which many have forgotten. But O’Neill was free to bathe in the achievement; it had given him “a reason to live”. There was talk of a statue.

It turned out, though, the whistle had not blown on O’Neill’s Celtic career either. Twenty-six days later, he was announced as the permanent manager on a one-year contract with a one-year option. This was met with a mixture of amazement, pleasure and some dismay at an apparent lack of strategic planning. It is not news to say Celtic is a club and fanbase divided. It is why O’Neill stressed the power of unity that afternoon against Hearts.

Fast-forward another 37 days and Celtic were back at Parkhead for the first time, for a pre-season friendly against Middlesbrough. In his programme notes, O’Neill referred to the “dramatic and thrilling” previous occasion.

Now, the atmosphere was rather different. The sun was still shining, and O’Neill was still there in his tracksuit, but about only 6,000 Celtic fans showed up. Various reasons were cited, but a factor was supporter disenchantment with the club’s direction. (That said, it was reported three weeks ago that 99.5 per cent of the club’s season ticket holders had renewed.)

Other absentees were Kelechi Iheanacho, scorer of the season-shaping controversial 90+9 penalty at Motherwell three days before the Hearts match, who joined Bursaspor in Turkey’s second division instead of re-signing for Celtic, and Maeda, about to move to Ipswich Town.

Brendan Rodgers will have heard an echo of Kyogo Furuhashi, Nicolas Kühn and Adam Idah in these departures; many Celtic fans certainly did, though plenty also understood why the club baulked at Iheanacho’s wage demands. This being Glasgow, the following week contained a rumour that Celtic’s recruitment policy had even given O’Neill a reason to leave.

However, there he was last Saturday with more than 20,000 others as Celtic hosted AC Milan in their last pre-season friendly. Camilo Duran was there too. He is Celtic’s new striker, a Colombian signed from Qarabag who scored against Benfica in last season’s Champions League, and who produced a fine finish against Middlesbrough. Duran has three goals in three pre-season appearances.

This offers O’Neill some reassurance and a few days later another striker, Kasper Hogh, joined for an approximate €13m, near enough to the fee received for Maeda.

Høgh scored twice in Bodo/Glimt’s 3-1 Champions League win over Manchester City last season, and if he and Duran can score at that level then – on paper – both should be able to do so against Dundee on Monday night, and Kilmarnock, Falkirk, Aberdeen and St Mirren thereafter. Those are Celtic’s first five league opponents. None of them made Scotland’s top five last season.

This gentle opening should allow some focus on a home-and-away Champions League qualifier in the middle of next month. Celtic have failed at this hurdle before, of course – Kairat Almaty last year infuriated Rodgers. Selling has long been part of the economic model, but if further sales such as the projected Arne Engels are balanced with fresh signings, then there is the possibility of early momentum.

Such cautious optimism feels a distance from last October and the “toxic atmosphere” referenced by Dermot Desmond. In turn, supporter scepticism regarding how the club is run will remain until the squad shows it will not just compete in Europe but prosper.

That this is being written a month before the transfer window closes on August 31st is obviously to be taken into account. As it stands, Rangers have been the busier of the Glasgow giants, and the sense is they cannot be as haphazard as last season.

Hearts’ manager in May at Parkhead was Derek McInnes, who has moved to Ibrox. Hearts’ captain at Parkhead – and goalscorer – was Lawrence Shankland. He too has moved to Ibrox. Cammy Devlin, midfielder and Hearts’ player of the season has also left for Rangers. This is a maroon trio expected to bring some much-required steel to Rangers.

McInnes is the sixth permanent manager in five years and the third in 12 months. Neither Russell Martin nor Danny Röhl convinced in their brown brogues, but McInnes is a former player. He fits. Then again, three of Rangers’ last four seasons have been trophyless; so there is expectation and he will need to hit the road marching, beginning at Tannadice on Friday night.

McInnes leaving Hearts has led to Wouter Vrancken arriving at Tynecastle. The Belgian coach has overseen two games so far and, sadly for him, they have been two defeats to Sturm Graz in a Champions League qualifier. It could be hard for Vrancken as a coach, and for Hearts as a club, to replicate the sheer energy which attracted so many outsiders to Scottish football last season.

Hearts pushed the whole way. May 16th, 2027, is once again the season’s scheduled end date. O’Neill’s grandchildren should probably circle it.

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