STUTTGART, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 26: Celtic manager Martin O'Neill (L) and Callum McGregor at full time during a UEFA Europa League 2025/26 Play-Off Second Leg match between VfB Stuttgart and Celtic at the MHPArena, on February 26, 2026, in Stuttgart, Germany. (Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)
This guy. My oh my, this guy.
He can almost make you believe in miracles, in spite of yourself.
In spite of everything we know about this team. About this squad not being up to scratch. Not being ready. About it being the weakest Celtic side in a long time.
All of that may be true.
And yet he still makes you think he might find a way. That he might find the recipe for turning water into wine.
The tie was over. Most of us expected to come here tonight and, at best, leave with a mild beating.
Instead, O’Neill found a way to do more than just salvage pride. He delivered the club’s first ever win in Germany. We played well enough to get a second goal. That would have put the cat among the pigeons and given us a real chance of going through.
And the remarkable thing is this: it wouldn’t have felt unbelievable. After a start like that, you wouldn’t have been staring at the screen in disbelief. The start set the tone. The start set up the rest of the game.
And yet the fact we didn’t quite get there doesn’t feel like a tragedy or a failure.
Instead, it feels like the right result. The proper outcome. We didn’t go through, which minimises the risk of further disruption, but even so this wasn’t just about restoring pride. That was a competitive performance against a very good German side on their own ground.
As a result, that changes the conversation completely ahead of Ibrox.
On the back of that performance, why shouldn’t we go there with confidence?
If you’re asking where that level was in the first leg, I think it was there all along. After all, the first leg was never a game we were going to empty the tank for. We lost to Hibs anyway, but not because we’d run ourselves into the ground.
I’ve spent a lot of time analysing our domestic form.
Earlier this week I wrote about how Celtic are effectively playing against Mourinho every week. And I meant it. That comparison wasn’t something I pulled out of thin air. Instead, it’s been building in my mind for a while.
Football moves in cycles.
There are eras where attacking football dominates and others where defensive organisation takes over.
For example, in 1967, in Lisbon, Celtic broke one of those defensive cycles.
Inter Milan’s catenaccio defined that era. We smashed it apart with wave after wave of attacking football.
And it’s no coincidence that when we were beaten in Milan a couple of years later, Total Football was already taking hold.
Now, however, we’re coming to the end of the Guardiola era. The high press, the patient probing, the intricate build-up, the dominance through possession. That system has ruled European football for years, but now the cycle is turning again.
That’s one of the reasons I initially welcomed the Wilfried Nancy appointment, for all my sins.
Simply put, that era of football is closing.
If Celtic want to dominate domestically and compete in Europe, we need to move beyond it.
And that work, therefore, has to begin this summer.
Oddly enough, that’s also why I have more confidence than I probably should going into Ibrox.
They won’t sit deep. They won’t play the low block. Instead, they’ll come at us. It’s their home ground. They’ll try to play football. And that means space. That means opportunities. That means openings we simply don’t get against most teams in Scotland.
Show even a little tactical imagination and our chances improve dramatically.
And this man. God help me, but this man makes me believe he might pull it off.
This team is a poor Celtic side. It’s at the end of its cycle. It’s running on fumes. But if he can squeeze another five percent out of them, then there might just be enough left in the tank to make something extraordinary happen.
And on a night like this, you can believe it.
Because that was Celtic tonight. We showed up and defended when we had to. We played well in spells and could have scored again. Everything about it felt right. The performance felt right. The result felt right.
Earlier I wrote about O’Neill’s legacy and how none of us wanted it to end with a heavy European defeat.
Instead, he goes out with history.
The first Celtic manager to win in Germany. That’s a fitting way to sign off.
There’s something mythic about it. Something almost fairy tale.
And the strange thing is this. For a man who doesn’t believe in fairy tales, he’s starting to make even a realist like me wonder.
Because maybe this isn’t a team on death row waiting for the execution date.
Maybe, instead, we’re waiting for the mother of all reprieves.
Maybe the charges get dismissed.
It could just be that we’re suffering now only to walk into a sunlit morning with our heads held high.
Martin O’Neill. What a man.
Now get this team rested. Get them prepared. Get them to Ibrox.
Bring back the three points.
Do that and even a cynic like me will be on the bus for the rest of this campaign.
See what happens when ya play with a fuckin FIT and fuckin YOUNG goalie !
Delighted for Martin to sign off with a Celtic victory (of sorts) in Europe…
No fuckin use of course when the cheats will whistles, flags and monitors deny us v Sevco at Liebrox on Sunday !
100% agree with you Clach
We cannot have Schmeichel in goal on sunday
Even the huns will know to go to his left so he needs a big long rest.
I know tonight’s team will bear little resemblance to Sundays but if we go in the heart and belief and a bit of fucking life ane effort right from the start who knows what will happen.
We cannot just start to play in the second half. We need to fight like fuck the first whistle. And show these cunts who’s the best
If the lads are fit enough after tonight, why play a different team on Sunday. We just beat Stuttgart, give the same team a whirl.
Whilst he was only given about 20 minutes tonight, I hope we see more of Iheanacho on Sunday and for the rest of the season. The way he picked the ball up and laid the chance on for Tounekti (who should have done better) was impressive.
Mjallby made a good point that we defended our box well with numbers but that the game will be more stretched at Ibrox with more space between players.
It suddenly feels that, whilst we won’t have Trusty, we do have some options on the weekend. We should also be looking at getting some of our injured players back in the next week or two. Things could start to get interesting…
If there’s any justice, Sinisalo, Saracchi, Murray and McCowan have just played their way into the starting 11 on Sunday.
Stick with the guys on form Martin!
Even CMG got pass marks for the first time in about four years. I actually burst out laughing watching him run forward, twenty yards with the ball. It was a shock to the system but a welcome one. Maybe we can make a midfielder out of him yet.
My main complaint has always been that they are the laziest team in Celtic’s history but not tonight. More of the same on Sunday.
“Sleep when you’re dead” as the bold Warren Zevon once sang.
A good result and MON played it well. He has learnt from the 1st leg. A tall order to qualify tonight but a good performance. He played Sinisalo as I hoped and must now rest Schmeichel for Sunday. This puts us in a good frame of mind for Ibrox also.
Good coefficient points for us and Scotland and I hope this has convinced the rockets who were wanting to throw these 2 games v Stuttgart!
Now we can concentrate on the league the way it should be!
For anyone that has wanted to have a go at MON, tonight was another example of his ability and nous, to get something out of a situation that initially looked pretty desperate!
We’ll never know how he truly feels, but by god we owe him for trying to salvage this season, not once, but twice, despite being completely misled by this abominable board. Yes, I fully understand he’s not doing it for free, but many lesser men, would already have walked away !
Before tonight, I have had a feeling that we would go to Ibrokes and get a positive result. Tonight, just enhanced that feeling.
Sunday’s defeat to Hibs left us all feeling pretty low, and possibly thinking we’d blown this title, but in the cold light of day, we realised, like Tynecastle, a debatable red card changed the course and result of both games !
A few things became quite clear to most of us, after watching our first ever win on German soil!
Sinisalo gave a very competent display, and a very confident post match interview, and should start on Sunday.
Big Murray also did well and will probably partner Scales.
McCowan showed what he is capable of, and would give us the requisite grit we shall require on Sunday.
My front three might surprise some, but I’d start with Maeda, Yang and Iheanacho.
Maeda & Yang for their workrate, as they showed tonight how well they can help us defend.
Iheanacho, regardless of his injury issues, is our best striker option by far, and if we can even get 60 mins out of him, I think it’ll be very valuable. Incidentally, I thought Adamu did well tonight !
I appreciate Tounetki might get the nod v Sevco as he has been good in recent games and I like him, but will he track back and help Tierney on Sunday …very doubtful !!! That is my concern about starting him !
Hopefully Arajou is fit !
Lastly, I appreciate there have been many critics of CalMac, this season and I am not one of them. For me he is still crucial to our team and I’m sure he will prove that in this vital run of games we now face !
Others are entitled to their opinions, of course!
Sunday might need to be slightly similar to tonight, as they will come at us and we’ll need to defend properly.
However they are there to be got at, and I think we can exploit that.
Our biggest worry are the officials, and again it’s a complete disgrace for it to be the case.
MON is a club legend and I think he still has a few points to prove, and maybe, just maybe, it might be, securing this SPL championship !
Whether we win this title or not, we owe him a huge debt of gratitude for trying to keep, despite all our problems, this team focused, together and still with a chance of success !
HH
I also meant to say that Trusty looked far more assured on his natural left side of defence !
Sorry but reading this you would be excused for thinking we had qualified for the next round.
Stuttgart were in relax mode, already qualified mode,hotels booked for next round mode and still nearly won as they scored two offside goals and were pounding our goal.
Sinisalo helped -as does Kasper-with decent saves but let’s not fool ourselves that this was anything exceptional.Our overall performance was much better than recent weeks which is encouraging and we did so without a few regulars to.However it isn’t saying much as we have been appalling recently.
To see some free flowing passing and a Celtic team that was actually making an effort for once was a welcome surprise, though that should be the minimum standard when you put on that jersey.
Improvement in performance from the tripe of recent weeks coupled with proper effort is inspiring for us all this weekend but let’s keep a sense of perspective here ; we scraped a win in a dead rubber.
100% agree. Much more positive about how we played, but I’m glad you said this Volp, save me saying it myself.
Volp,
I don’t think anyone is getting carried away with the win or performance, it’s just better to be talking about some positives rather than the shit we’ve had to discuss for the majority of this season.
I think the requisite perspective will be placed on last night and reality will soon kick as we approach Sunday.
I fully agree that the minimum we see and expect is 100% effort in EVERY match, not just when it suits certain players.
Sunday is now the focus and let’s hope we can use last night as a positive catalyst to get the result and show everyone that we can still win this title ! HH
There have been other great European nights this season where I’ve come away thinking “we will kick on after this result” only to find normal service resumed. It was a great result, and good performance, and it has given me some hope for Sunday. Hopefully they still have the fire in their bellies!! Cmon Celtic, lets shatter this Danny Rohl outstanding manager myth!!
James I still cannot get a grip of this new system on your Blog. I live in Thailand and always go through your Blog at 6pm Thai time every night, which is 11am UK time. I wish it could go back to it’s original set up.