O’Neill should have left Celtic in glory, says Crowe
By CALUM CROWE, 3 November 2026, the piece argues that Martin O’Neill should have recognised the dramatic league‑title win on the final day of last season.
He rescued Celtic from oblivion twice in a chaotic season, a moment when the credits should have rolled.
The episode was described as a blockbuster Hollywood finale.
It offered a perfect chance to exit in a blaze of glory, further enhancing his legacy.
Fans turn against the manager
His decision to stay on as manager this season has proved a mistake.
In his heart of hearts O’Neill must realise the whole thing is finished, as a predecessor would have said.
After a 2‑0 defeat to Falkirk last weekend, his continued presence is now damaging his legacy.
Fans are turning on him, caring only about the present and ignoring his deeds from twenty‑odd years ago, wisecracks or nostalgic tales.
The side have managed three wins in their last ten matches and appear to be getting worse.
Succession and long‑term planning
O’Neill’s claim that they remain top of the league is dismissed as deflection, denial and delusion, an insult to Celtic supporters.
Martin O’Neill’s Celtic team lead the table but have struggled to convince – this is the problem.
If evidence shows he has lost the players’ faith, he is also rapidly losing the fans’ faith.
It is sad that it should come to this; the man is 74 years old.
He did not ask to be thrust back into the spotlight, at least not initially.
He answered two SOS calls from Dermot Desmond last season and did exactly what was asked.
Legacy under scrutiny
Had Celtic possessed a competent succession plan, there would have been no conversation about O’Neill’s future at season’s end.
Instead, they might have shaken his hand, thanked him for a heroic contribution and serenaded him after a league‑and‑cup double.
Yet in the final weeks of last season O’Neill was eager to stay and the board would not turn him down.
The situation required either O’Neill to step aside or Celtic to appoint a proper long‑term manager.
In the absence of both, it became the blind leading the blind.
O’Neill remained mainly to chase another European chance, while the board believed retaining a club icon was a bullet‑proof shield.
The argument that the title win earned him the right to stay missed the point.
Of course he earned the right; only Jock Stein stands above him in the club’s all‑time greats.
Fans once adored him, but earning the right does not make it the right thing to do.
Celtic manager Martin O’Neill lifted the league trophy back in May.
A hypothetical about Manchester United sacking Michael Carrick and Sir Alex Ferguson returning shows that nostalgia should not dictate appointments.
Failing to separate nostalgia for O’Neill from the season’s requirements was a catastrophic error of judgment by Celtic.
The club had no idea how to move forward in the summer nor who to appoint if O’Neill were relieved.
In the past Celtic sacked Tommy Burns and Billy McNeill.
Believing O’Neill could not suffer a similar fate is hugely naive.
A growing section of the fanbase now view him as little more than an extension of Desmond.
His status as a club icon is fading.
Over the weekend, articles from 2019 about his Nottingham Forest sacking noted he lost the dressing‑room and players were bemused by his lack of tactical detail.