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The Football Show · 20 September 2026
Will Martin O'Neill leave Celtic and is he at fault? After Celtic 0-1 Rangers, and having listened to his post-match press conference, Peter Martin has a strong feeling that Martin O'Neill might use the international break to decide enough is enough and walk away from Celtic himself. But, he argues, O'Neill going will not fix what is really wrong at Celtic Park.
Will Martin O'Neill leave Celtic?
Peter's gut call is that O'Neill, with nothing left to prove and a great legacy already secured, may look at the hassle and go, perhaps regretting that he did not walk at the end of last season with the Scottish Cup and league already won. He is careful to say he might be "100% wrong", but the feeling is that O'Neill would rather leave on his own terms than have the board eventually tell him his time is up.
Why can't Celtic compete with Rangers?
The football verdict is damning. Rangers, superb again after their Ibrox win, are worthy 1-0 winners through Ryan Naderi and could have had more, while Celtic look "completely and utterly disjointed": a goalkeeper below standard, a weak back line, forwards who cannot score, and a captain in Callum McGregor being exposed with no support, to the point some are asking if his legs have gone.
Is the Celtic board the real problem?
For Peter, absolutely. O'Neill staying or going "will not solve the problems" because Celtic's problems run deep and sit in the boardroom: a lack of ambition he traces back to selling Kyogo in January 2025, a strategy built on profit and accountancy rather than competing, and no long-term plan. Until Dermot Desmond sells up, he argues, "this board is a shambles", the whole structure needs to change, and the November AGM will bring more pain before any real change comes.
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