Martin O’Neill’s Celtic return has been surreal for Hoops fans everywhere.
So imagine what it must be like for Celtic fans in the building at Lennoxtown.
Brendan Rodgers’ resignation came as a huge shock, but the surprise appointment of O’Neill in his place has allowed the players to come to terms with it.
Luke McCowan was raised a Celtic fan, and was in his early childhood during O’Neill’s first spell at Parkhead. He started for the first time under the interim boss in Sunday’s win against Kilmarnock.
And after helping his side return to winning ways, he was full of honesty speaking to the media after the game.
Luke McCowan on being ‘scared’ of Martin O’Neill
McCowan was brought to Glasgow last summer by Rodgers, in a deadline day arrival from Dundee.
It completed a fairy-tale rise for the midfielder who had been playing junior football until his late teens.
He started alongside Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate in midfield on Sunday, as the Hoops won with a dominant performance.
After the game, McCowan was discussing his memories of O’Neill, and gave an honest answer when asked if he had asked O’Neill about his memories from back in the day. “Nah, I’m too scared. I’ll just wait, maybe wait. It’s too serious the now.
“We’re all focusing on games. There will be a time for that. If he’s still about for the international break, because I’m not going anywhere!
“If he’ll be about, I’ll maybe get a few questions in then.”
Asked about his Dad’s reaction to O’Neill’s appointment, McCowan said: “He was buzzing, man. He kept trying to pester me with questions, but I just tried to play it cool.
“You’ve just kind of got to go, ‘aye, it’s alright, it’s fine’. But we all know that it’s nice to have the gaffer here. What he brought before, he’s obviously replicating that again.”
It certainly sounds like McCowan would have no issue with O’Neill remaining in the role long-term.
Luke McCowan’s Celtic season so far
Given that midfielders Connor Barron and Andy Irving were handed late call-ups to the Scotland squad on Monday, McCowan can certainly feel hard done by to still not have been given a chance.
His total of seven league goals in his first season at Celtic Park was highly impressive. In the end, he ended up featuring in 36 of the 38 league games in 2024-25.
The arrival of Benjamin Nygren has complicated things, but this didn’t stop McCowan from scoring the Hoops’ first competitive goal of the season against St Mirren.
In a season of inconsistency for the Hoops, McCowan’s ability to not drop below a six or seven out of ten has been handy in the Celtic squad – many would like to see him given more game time.
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