Before we get into this, let’s make this clear, Martin O’Neill is an absolute Celtic legend and nothing will ever change that.
Growing up watching Celtic in the 90s from The Jungle was tough as a young Hoops supporter as there was not much to cheer about both domestically and in Europe.
Martin O’Neill changed that when he arrived at the club in 2000 by ending Rangers’ domination and made Celtic feared on the continent again. And for that, Celtic supporters will be forever grateful.
However, speaking after Celtic’s 2025 AGM yesterday, O’Neill made three comments that were disappointing and look like big mistakes in the broader context of what happened yesterday.
Martin O’Neill’s Jock Stein comment and how it looks for Celtic fans
After the ill-fated AGM, O’Neill was asked his thoughts on the whole debacle and the interim Celtic boss appeared unhappy that the club is not unified.
And his first mistake was bringing Jock Stein’s name to the proceedings.
O’Neill said, “Do you know what, I thought it was a really sad morning. A really sad morning.
“My mind is going back, really, to the greatest manager that there’s ever been in the history of this football club – and in any conversation, one of the greatest of all time – I wonder what Jock Stein would’ve made of it all.
“Because he talked about unity being so important at a football club, because without it, you won’t win. So that was really sad.
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“It finished early because it became too raucous. And the bits that I saw – I saw board members saying on video that mistakes had been made, but now’s the opportunity to move on.”
What O’Neill failed to mention was why the meeting became ‘raucous’ and was eventually called to a halt. The Ross Desmond statement on the podium after the video was where Dermot’s son labelled Celtic supporters ‘bullies’ and ‘shameful’ was a stunning attack on the fan base.
Mentioning Jock Stein’s name appears to be O’Neill pointing the finger at those fans who were angry at the AGM as the reason the meeting was called to a halt.
If that wasn’t the intention, why not say, ‘I wonder what Fergus McCann would have made of it all…’
Don’t forget, ‘Football without fans is nothing.’
O’Neill’s endorsement of Ross Desmond’s ‘rights’ whilst failing to mention Celtic fans’
In the preceding pre-match St Mirren press conference, O’Neill appeared to endorse Ross Desmond’s attack on Celtic supporters as he said, “He has every right to say what he said there. Absolutely. And again, this is the point, I got this job 25 years ago because of one man really.
“And he brought me in when he had bigger names to choose from people who had better CVs, bigger CVs, that type of stuff.
“And I come in from that viewpoint and I have had, you know, I must admit for the next couple of years, I’ve had the time of my life, which was fantastic.”
Now let’s bear in mind the brazen attack Desmond made on the whole of the Celtic support. Not just the Green Brigade, or the season ticket holders or even the Celtic Fans Collective.
This was a support-wide attack that O’Neill appears to have endorsed and, his third mistake, was not to acknowledge how the Celtic supporters were attacked or that they also have the same right to voice their opinions too.
For O’Neill to then carry on and appear to show loyalty to Desmond for giving him the Celtic job 25 years ago as a reason to back his sons statement really is quite something. I wish he’d just said nothing.
Who want’s to bet when Chris Sutton said he was worried about O’Neill damaging his legacy at Celtic, he never for a second thought it would be because of this.
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