From chaos to champions: How O’Neill saved Celtic’s season

Celtic are champions of Scotland... again.

It may be the norm in Scottish football, having seen the club claim top spot in 14 of the last 15 seasons. However, this season will be remembered for many years to come.

Despite leading the way for just 34 days this season, they finished where it matters, when it matters.

• Scottish Premiership games coming up live on Sky Sports
• Got Sky? Watch now on the Sky Sports app 📱
• Not got Sky? Get instant access with no contract 📺

While Celtic still had the biggest budgets and spending power in the league, a number of factors led to the club almost losing grip of their dominance in the country.

Hearts were in pole position heading into the final day, as they had been for 250 days this season. The Old Firm duopoly, running back to 1985, was set to end.

Step forward club legend Martin O'Neill, twice. The 74-year-old came out of retirement and steered the Hoops over the line, finishing two points ahead of Hearts - that's despite being six adrift when he took over for his second stint of the campaign.

Scottish top-flight title wins since 1985-86

• Celtic - 23
• Rangers - 18
• Other - 0

Here's a look at how the Hoops went from chaos to champions in what has been a turbulent season at Celtic Park...

Also See:

• Stream the Scottish Premiership with NOW
• Scottish Premiership live on Sky Sports

Recruitment

Celtic's recruitment has been the root cause of the supporter unrest this season. When the Hoops exited the Champions League in the knockout rounds after a heroic performance away to Bayern Munich, former boss Brendan Rodgers spoke about his hopes to build on that progress.

However, in the summer, Celtic sold Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Idah. On top of Kyogo leaving in January 2025, it meant the Hoops had let go of 73 goals-worth of talent from last season, without replacing them. They also let Greg Taylor leave on a free transfer after failing to agree a new deal with the left-back. While they did sign Kieran Tierney, Benjamin Nygren and Sebastian Tounekti (on top of a number of project signings), a shambolic summer Deadline Day - missing out on main striker target Kasper Dolberg - added fuel to the fire of the fans' discontent.

Image: Kuhn (L) and Kyogo (R) both left Celtic last year

Kelechi Iheanacho came in on a free transfer after the window closed and, while he has been missing from many matches this season due to poor fitness levels, he has been instrumental in Celtic's success this season with four late match-winners out of his five Premiership goals.

January didn't get any better for the Hoops in terms of recruitment. Five loan signings came in, but only Julian Araujo managed to hold down a regular place in the team before his season-ending injury last month. Following the closure of the window, Celtic again looked to the free agent market and snapped up Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. While he has also played very little football since joining, he has scored two match-winning goals for the club against Livingston and St Mirren.

Image: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joined after the January transfer window

Rodgers' relationship

Rodgers went from saying "I'll be here next year, 200 per cent" on April 26, 2025, when they won the league again at Tannadice, to resigning six months later. It came as a huge shock - with Celtic announcing the news at 9.48pm on a Monday night. Between Celtic's Champions League play-off exit to Kairat Almaty in August, to the day he left, Rodgers had been echoing the fans' discontent at the club's lack of major activity in summer transfer window.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Speaking after Rodgers' resignation, Chris Sutton questioned Celtic's transfer strategy and suggested the board didn't do enough to back their former boss

It was becoming the norm in every press conference for Rodgers to make a sly - or, not so sly - dig at those above for the squad he had been left with. After losing 2-0 to Dundee, he said of his situation: "There's no way you'll go into a race and be given the keys to a Honda Civic and say, 'I want you to drive it like a Ferrari'."

Celtic's principal shareholder Dermot Desmond hit back at Rodgers after his resignation - calling him "divisive, misleading and self-serving". Desmond accused the former Liverpool manager of trying to stir up hatred and abuse towards the board. The full statement was an astonishing character assassination of one of Celtic's most successful managers… on the club's official website. Rodgers is yet to publicly respond to that attack from his old boss and hasn't faced the British media since moving to Saudi Arabia.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Dermot Desmond revealed a number of disagreements with former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers over contract talks, transfer policy and fan unrest

Nancy appointment

Celtic appointed Columbus Crew boss Wilfried Nancy as their new manager in December 2025, after O'Neill came in and steadied the ship. The now 74-year-old took the Hoops within touching distance of top-of-the-table Hearts, despite being eight points behind. Celtic saw similarities between Nancy and Ange Postecoglou, having both won titles abroad and known for their attacking football. The Frenchman was recommended by the club's then-head of football operations, Paul Tisdale.

Image: Captain Callum McGregor said Nancy tried to change too much too quickly after taking over at Celtic

The Nancy experiment lasted just 33 days, after the Frenchman lost six of his eight games in charge - including the League Cup final against St Mirren and a home derby against Rangers. Nancy immediately changed the system when he came in and Celtic's players struggled to adapt. They lost four games in a row - the first time since 1978.

Image: Amid a poor run of form, Nancy's Venn diagram sparked major backlash from Celtic fans on social media

Back-to-win wins over Aberdeen and Livingston bought Nancy some time and it appeared he would be allowed the January transfer to make the additions he wanted for his system. But losses to Motherwell and Rangers around New Year sealed his fate as the shortest-serving manager in the club's history. Tisdale was also relieved of his duties. O'Neill was brought back in straight away.

[

Follow Sky Sports on WhatsApp

Follow Sky Sports on WhatsApp for the latest sports news, videos, features, analysis and much more](https://qrcode.skysports.com/whatsapp/FollowSkySportsWhatsAppWidget)

Fans vs Board

"Don't fall asleep at the wheel" has been the message from the fans to the board for quite some time. And after Celtic's incredible Champions League run and double-winning performances last season, there was a sense of optimism and hope among the fanbase that they could sustainably become a competitive force in Europe's premier competition, whilst also maintaining domestic success. But after the summer transfer window and being knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers, the protests started. Campaigns calling for the removal of board members, and for fans to stop putting money into the club followed.

Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player

Celtic fans held a number of protests during games, including at Dundee, where they threw hundreds of balls onto the pitch

The Green Brigade ultras group were also banned due to "safety incidents" - a suspension that was lifted on April 7 ahead of the title run-in. The club's AGM was abandoned after 30 minutes due to protests against the board. Chairman Peter Lawwell said he was forced to resign at the end of last year because of "abuse and threats".

The Celtic fans have been calling for CEO Michael Nicholson, CFO Chris McKay and principal shareholder Dermot Desmond to resign. It's been a turbulent - and somewhat ugly - affair between the fans and the board this season. Despite this title triumph, the sentiment from some fans is the protests are likely to continue.

Image: Peter Lawwell resigned from his role as Celtic chairman at the end of last year after 'abuse and threats'

O'Neill has tried to bridge that gap in his calls for peace and unity. When the Green Brigade were allowed back in, his message seemed to work with the fans uniting to get behind the team to push them over the line.

O'Neill factor

Image: O'Neill was appointed in October following Rodgers' exit, then returned again in January to replace Nancy

It was a huge shock when O'Neill was named as the interim manager in October last year - 20 years on from when he left Celtic. He was no longer a football manager. He was a TV and radio pundit, who was in our Sky Sports News newsroom not long before he ended up putting the tracksuit back on to save Celtic.

He's had to steer the ship out of two chaotic situations this season. When he took over from Rodgers, Celtic trailed Hearts by eight points. He brought them back level in just a few games, before Nancy was appointed. He also guided the club to a Scottish League Cup final with a win over Rangers and a healthy position in the Europa League, following a memorable night in Rotterdam where they beat Feyenoord 3-1.

Image: Celtic progressed to the Europa League play-offs

When he took over the second time this season, the Hoops trailed Hearts by six points and Rangers had caught them under their new leadership of Danny Rohl. At that point, O'Neill went back to basics - ripping up Nancy's failed system and played to his squad's strengths.

Image: O'Neill saw off the challenge of Rangers en route to the title

It's not been pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but Celtic have always found a way - even when things have looked done and dusted. That says everything about the mentality that O'Neill has instilled into the squad. The never-say-die attitude that has seen them come back from 2-0 goals down to beat Kilmarnock 3-2, to come back from two down to Rangers to earn a point and then to beat Motherwell at Fir Park 3-2 in the 99th-minute. It's no coincidence with O'Neill. His record as a Celtic manager is incredible and there are rightly calls for a potential statue of the 74-year-old at Celtic Park.

While change, rather than chaos, could lie ahead, with Celtic needing a new manager and a huge summer of recruitment. For now, O'Neill, the players and the fans will take this time to enjoy and celebrate their title win - which could even turn into a double.

[

Play Super 6!

Play Super 6 for a chance to win £250k! Enter for free.](https://super6.skysports.com/)