"I want to lead the club. I want to try and win the league," Martin O'Neill said after deciding to stay on at Celtic. He had briefly wondered whether it might be time to wrap it up during a run of three straight losses, but the answer came quickly enough once he sat with it.
Celtic's recent run
The losing run included two defeats to Rangers, and the BBC also noted a three-game streak that featured a 3-1 home defeat by Ferencvaros in the Europa League. The overlap matters because the debate around O'Neill's future was not driven by one result, it came after a rough spell that put pressure on the week as a whole.
That pressure has not changed the league table. Celtic are still top of the Premiership with 18 points from 7 matches, a 6-0-1 record and a +10 goal difference. Rangers are second on 16 points, so the title race remains tight even after the setback.
Motherwell and the title race
O'Neill said Celtic still wanted him, and that was enough for him to keep going. He also said there are nine games over a 28-day period before the next international break, which gives the club very little breathing space before the schedule tightens again.
Sunday's trip to Motherwell is next in the league. Motherwell have 8 points from 7 games and sit ninth, so Celtic go there as the stronger side on paper, but they also go there needing a cleaner response than the one they gave during the losing run.
Written by Sam Whitfield with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →
