Wilfried Nancy was already under fire at Celtic – then Martin O’Neill spoke

Robin Bairner

• 15 Dec 2025 08:00 CST
• 4 min read

Analysis

Amid Celtic’s catastrophic start to the season, Martin O’Neill is perhaps the only figure at the top of the club who can be absolved of any blame for the situation the team finds itself in.

His record of seven wins from eight matches is something that no one can argue with, particularly in the context of the form that this run was sandwiched between, but upon breaking his silence after departing Parkhead for a second time, he has done the club, and particularly new manager Wilfried Nancy, no favours.

The Northern Irishman said that Celtic “need harmony again”, but his blunt honesty in an interview with TalkSport (via BBC Sport) is unlikely to achieve that amid the backdrop of a chastening three-game losing streak under new manager Wilfried Nancy.

The Frenchman’s first 10 days in charge at Parkhead have been nothing short of catastrophic. Fleeting glimpses of potential in the defeats to Hearts, Roma and St Mirren have been all too few, and already the new boss, remarkably, faces the prospect of the sack.

Who is to blame for the current crisis is a matter of hot debate. Is it Nancy for failing to recognise the weaknesses in his squad and trying to impose a new style and formation too quickly in three vital games? Is it the board for asking him to do so? What of the players' role in all this? Even former manager Brendan Rodgers has not escaped criticism.

O’Neill calls for unity but deepens divide

Of those who have touched the team this season, only O’Neill can truly be absolved of blame.

And yet, while calling for unity, the 71-year-old has only fanned the flames of discontent towards the Parkhead hierarchy.

Asked if he would have stayed on for the League Cup final, he replied: “Only if asked. That was not a driving force. I'd happily have stayed on.

“If they had asked me to stay on, I would've done so, but the minute that they said: 'No, that's your time,' that's fine by me.”

His comments were in no way a dig at the Celtic board, but equally he has left those above him in Glasgow’s East End out to dry. The support is sceptical of their management competence, and these comments only serve to validate that distrust.

Clearly, keeping him on for three games could not have been any worse than what the club has endured since. Everyone knows it, from the board and players to the fans and surely even Nancy himself.

O’Neill voicing this desire will only have the effect of fracturing the club further – the very thing he says it can ill afford.

Nancy up against it more than ever

Nancy arrived with a target on his back due to the fact he was appointed by a vastly unpopular board. He has done nothing to allay those fears. Some of the criticism, of course, has been bizarre, but the results and performances under him have been clearly insufficient.

Even allowing for obvious problems he inherited, most notably the unbalanced, injury-hit squad, a more robust start was demanded.

Now, understandably furious Celtic supporters have been told what they might have had instead. The bull has been shown a red rag.

This is a season that is in danger of getting away from the Hoops. Some would argue that it already did when they were eliminated from the Champions League, but losing the Premiership would be disastrous. And it’s a very real possibility.

Celtic’s problems run deeper than any single manager or abject run of results, but the timing of O’Neill’s remarks has only magnified existing divides.

Looking to the past is not an option for the Glasgow giants, who need a strong January to improve their manager’s hand.

Some kind of harmony is essential to turn the situation around, but right now it feels further away than ever.

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