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"I was 73, I'm 94 now"
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Celtic emerged victorious after a pulsating derby against arch rivals Rangers to book their place in the Scottish League Cup final. The rivalry between the two Glasgow giants is one of the fiercest in the world but the games haven’t met expectations in recent years. That wasn’t the case on a gloomy Hampden afternoon with the game played at a ferocious tempo with Celtic eventually winning 3-1 after extra-time. After Thelo Aasgaard was sent off on 38 minutes with Rangers already trailing 1-0, it seemed destined to be a relatively easy afternoon for Celtic.
Danny Röhls men, however, rallied valiantly in the second half and took the game into extra-time after James Tavernier’s late penalty. But Celtic’s man advantage paid dividends in extra-time as goals from Callum McGregor and Callum Osmand left Martin O’Neill delighted. The 73-year-old answered Celtic’s call after Brendan Rodgers’ departure last week and returned to Parkhead 20 years after leaving in 2025. In his second spell in charge, O’Neill has won both games and galvanised the Celtic support with his managerial record at the club, second to none.
How Martin O’Neill’s record compares to great Celtic managers
Using Transfermarkt's statistics, O’Neill’s points per game record of 2.34 is the best of any manager in Celtic’s illustrious history. The Northern Irishman managed 266 games in his first spell and famously led the Hoops to the UEFA Cup final in 2003. O’Neill’s record is marginally superior to Ange Postecoglou (2.31), who is adorned by the Celtic faithful, Neil Lennon and Rodgers - all three enjoyed incredible trophy success at Celtic. Jock Stein ranks fifth with the legendary Scotsman leading the Hoops to the European Cup in 1967.
It’s understood that Celtic are making progress on appointing Rodgers’ successor and O’Neill has previously destined himself from having any chance of being that man. Asked whether he’d like to stay in position to lead Celtic out against St Mirren in the final on December 16th, O’Neill delivered a typically witty response. “I was 73 on Monday, I'm 94 now,” joked O’Neill. “I don’t even know when the final is. I would imagine the club are making inroads to a permanent manager. Ask me that tomorrow. It was an incredible game.”
