Celtic: Martin O'Neill backed by chief executive Michael Nicholson despite 'painful' week
Martin O'Neill revealed he was going to reflect on his future after three defeats in a week, two of which came against Rangers in the League Cup and Scottish Premiership; Celtic also lost their Europa League opener, less than a month after their Champions League play-off collapse
Tuesday 22 September 2026 21:16, UK
Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson has backed manager Martin O’Neill despite a "painful" week.
The Parkhead club lost twice to Rangers - in the League Cup quarter-finals and Scottish Premiership - plus at home to Ferencvaros in their Europa League opener.
It follows last month's collapse against LASK in their Champions League play-off, losing the tie on aggregate despite leading 4-0 at one stage.
- Celtic 'in big trouble' and told 'reset' needed after Old Firm loss
- Scottish Premiership fixtures | Table | Live on Sky Sports
- Got Sky? Watch Scottish Premiership games on your phone
- Not got Sky? Stream Scottish Premiership games flexibly on your phone
Following the second of those Old Firm defeats, O'Neill said he was going to reflect on his future and admitted "it might be time to wrap it up".
While Nicholson has admitted "the losses in the last week have been painful for us all", he insists the club "will now come together and support Martin and the players, as we focus our efforts on achieving success domestically and in the Europa League."
O'Neill's return to Celtic last October - 20 years after his first spell as manager - came following the resignation of Brendan Rodgers.
Another spell as interim boss followed weeks later as Wilfried Nancy was sacked after a dismal 33-day tenure.
Nicholson added that the club "owe a debt of gratitude" to O'Neill and his management team for stepping in twice last season, and says the club were "delighted" he agreed to return on a permanent basis this summer.
Celtic loss revealed amid transfer revelation
The Celtic board have faced criticism from supporters over its recruitment strategy.
Figures in the report reveal £31.7m was spent on the likes of record signing Kasper Hogh, plus Camilo Duran, Mika Baur, Haïssem Hassan and others, with Nicholson adding the club worked with O'Neill over transfers.
However, that period is not covered in the report that highlights a post-tax loss of £4.8m, a stark contrast to the £33.9m profit 12 months prior.
Chairman Brian Wilson's statement highlighted a lack of Champions League football, increased wages and a smaller profit in player trading as some of the reasons why.
Celtic did end the year until June 2026 with £66.4m in the bank.
Celtic 'feeling the pinch' for struggles in Europe
Analysis by Sky Sports News' Anthony Joseph:
Celtic's lack of preparation for Champions League qualifiers has been laid bare today - and it's costing the club around £40m dropping into the Europa League.
The club released their financial results tonight for the year ending on June 30 - revealing a £4.8m loss after a £33.9m profit in the previous year.
They reached the knockout play-offs in European competition in both seasons, so what was the difference? The answer was the competition itself: the previous season was in the Champions League, while last season was in the Europa League.
Celtic's revenue for the 2024/2025 season was £143.6m. Around £75m was from their exploits in the new format of the Champions League, which they had entered automatically from winning the title.
Due to Scotland's decreasing coefficient, the Hoops - then led by Brendan Rodgers - had to negotiate a play-off to get into the Champions League last season, which they lost on penalties to Kairat Almaty.
Rodgers had spoken multiple times about needing to invest in the squad before the qualifiers, but Celtic went into the tie still without replacements for Kyogo Furuhashi (who was sold to Rennes in January 2025 for £10m) and Nicolas Kuhn, who they sold to Como that summer for £16.5m.
The failure to prepare and qualify for the Champions League led to one of most chaotic seasons in Celtic's recent history.
The fans launched a campaign to boycott merchandise and kiosk spending at Celtic Park, while Rodgers eventually resigned over what he believed was the club's lack of ambition in the transfer window. Former manager Martin O'Neill, 74, came out of punditry to take charge until Wilfried Nancy was appointed in December, only for O'Neill to return 33 days after Nancy was sacked.
Celtic did go on to win the double in the most dramatic of ways and they got to the knockouts of the Europa League. But revenue was down 22.7 per cent to £111m, with the club making an overall loss last term.
Fans had hoped to see a change from the board in how they approached this season's Champions League play-off.
It can be argued that the club were more prepared - having spent around £32m on record-signing Kasper Høgh, Camilo Duran, Mika Baur and Haissem Hassan. However, they sold Arne Engels for £22m to West Ham just before the tie with LASK Linz, with no replacement brought in - something that irked O'Neill.
Being 4-0 up on aggregate with 57 minutes to go in Austria, Celtic should never have collapsed like they did to miss out on the Champions League. But for them to finish that tie with the likes of Anthony Ralston, Luke McCowan and Dane Murray suggests the squad was lacking depth to be ready for a game of such magnitude.
And that will leave yet another £40m black hole in next year's results, unless the club go far in this year's Europa League.
But it begs the question as to why the club, who are sitting on £66m of cash in the bank, don't fully prepare themselves for these qualifiers and show more ambition to treat Europe as a major priority. Even financially, it makes more sense.
For every £100 you earn in the Champions League, you only get £22 in the Europa League according to football finance expert Kieran Maguire.
And Celtic are certainly feeling that pinch now.
Celtic's upcoming fixtures
October 11: Motherwell vs Celtic, kick-off 12pm - live on Sky Sports
October 15: Benfica vs Celtic, kick-off 8pm (Europa League)
October 18: Celtic vs Hearts, kick-off 3pm
October 22: Celtic vs Celta Vigo, kick-off 8pm (Europa League)
October 25: Hibernian vs Celtic, kick-off 12pm - live on Sky Sports
October 28: Celtic vs Dundee Utd, kick-off 7.45pm
