Martin O'Neill was trying to keep the temperature down after a Celtic pre-season match played out against a clear protest backdrop at Parkhead. Tens of thousands of seats were left unoccupied on Saturday, with the entire Jock Stein stand left barren, but the manager said he was “delighted people came” and pointed to the cost of summer football, not just the empty spaces.

O'Neill's response to the empty seats

O'Neill's line was simple enough. People are being asked to pay for pre-season football, then some of them are facing another big outlay for the AC Milan game next week and season tickets on top. “Life is changing, it's not 25 years ago when you'd fill a stadium for a pre-season friendly,” he said.

He also had a football argument to lean on. Celtic go into the backdrop of this unrest on five straight wins in their most recent five competitive matches, so the protest is clearly about direction and trust rather than a team sinking on the pitch. Middlesbrough arrived on the back of L-L-L-L-W in their recent five competitive matches, which only underlined that the crowd mood was not reacting to a one-off collapse.

Forrest's transfer window message

James Forrest sounded far more focused on what comes next. “Right up until the last day of the window, we've always signed players,” he said, adding that there are maybe five or six weeks left in the window and about two weeks before the league starts.

That is the bit Celtic supporters will cling to. Forrest said the manager and coaches want players in, and he framed the delay as normal rather than alarming. He also tried to balance the mood by pointing to the academy, but the main message was clear: the window is still open, and Celtic still expect business.

Camilo Duran has at least given the conversation a brighter edge. He has scored 2 goals in 2 games since joining, and both O'Neill and Forrest were willing to talk him up. O'Neill said he can “hold it up”, is “incredibly enthusiastic” and wants to play and improve, while Forrest praised his sharpness in training and his hold-up play.

For Celtic, that is the cleanest positive from the day. The protest was impossible to miss, but O'Neill chose not to treat it as a crisis, and Forrest left the impression that the summer is still live. The next checkpoint is the remaining weeks of the transfer window, with the league set to start in about two weeks.

Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →