Martin O'Neill: This season should be a wake-up call for Celtic

The Hoops have won 13 out of the last 14 Scottish Premiership titles, but this season has been chaotic.

Fri, 06 Mar, 2026 - 16:58

Ronnie Esplin, PA

Martin O'Neill believes the serious trophy challenges Celtic are facing this season should be a "wake-up call" for the club.

The Hoops have won 13 out of the last 14 William Hill Premiership titles and numerous cups amid a gloriously successful period, but this season has been chaotic.

The Northern Irishman is in his second spell as interim boss this season after being manager of Celtic between 2000-2005 and finds himself embroiled in an epic title battle.

The Hoops sit five points behind leaders Hearts and one point ahead of Rangers going into Sunday's Scottish Gas Scottish Cup quarter-final tie against the Light Blues at Ibrox.

"The overall picture is I think that it should be a wake-up call for the football club," said the 74-year-old, who revealed left-back Kieran Tierney will be assessed after sustaining a foot injury in the 2-1 win against Aberdeen in midweek as will veteran goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel who had an injection in his shoulder following a bout of illness.

"You could say that in recent years fans have maybe been spoiled, no real challenges in many aspects.

"Being able to coast home in the last six or seven games of a season, which is great because you've done that. But the challenge has not been strong.

"Here it is. Here Hearts have arrived on the spot maybe a few years before they thought they would do.

"Rangers have come strongly and spent some money getting good players in at the football club.

"So it's been a challenge all season and certainly been the challenge in my couple of spells in here, where you're winning some matches and you're still trying to peg teams back.

"But we're in with a chance anyway, that's the point.

"I don't think it (Sunday's game) would have a serious bearing (on title), but in terms of confidence building, of course, those things always matter.

"But for the league, I'm not sure. It's down now to what, nine games left."

O'Neill is looking for Celtic to start off at Ibrox the way they finished the game against Rangers last week.

The Hoops were blown away in the first half of their league clash and were 2-0 down at the interval and facing an uphill task.

The reigning champions, however, rose to that challenge and goals from Tierney and Reo Hatate earned the visitors a deserved 2-2 draw.

The former Leicester, Aston Villa and Nottingham Forest boss said: "If we if we play like we did in the first half, we shouldn't turn up then.

"But the second half gave us great confidence, and the ability to know that we can fight back.

"I think it was testament to the player's character as much as anything else."

On the injury front, O'Neill said: "The injury Kieran's had to his foot is clearing up. He's just generally sore in every aspect, so we'll see how he is tomorrow.

"Kasper trained today for the first time since the injection, so we will see how he is tomorrow."