Martin O’Neill Unhappy With Celtic – It Isn’t The First Time This Season Already He Has Felt This Way.

I’ve been saying for a while now that there is a danger Celtic eventually push Martin O’Neill too far.

Yesterday, Michael Shearer at Celts Are Here published something which should make every Celtic supporter sit up and take notice.

Shearer reports that O’Neill is unhappy with the lack of signings Celtic had in place before the Champions League qualifiers and believes Celtic would have reached the Champions League had some of the players now at the club arrived earlier.

He also reports that Gvidas Gineitis was a player O’Neill wanted, but Celtic failed to get the deal over the line.

🚨 EXCLUSIVE: Gvidas Gineitis to Celtic is OFF.

CeltsAreHere understands Torino would likely have accepted around €8m plus a sell-on fee.

Martin O’Neill wanted the midfielder and is understood to be unhappy.@MichaelcShearer ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/To3UhEG7se— CeltsAreHere (@HereCelts) September 2, 2026

For me, this matters.

I have no reason whatsoever to believe Michael Shearer is trying to stir the pot. That’s not how I view his work or Celts Are Here.

If anything, that makes the story more concerning.

Because this isn’t somebody desperately searching for a stick to beat the Celtic board with. It’s a report from someone close enough to the club to believe O’Neill is genuinely unhappy behind the scenes.

And remember the word I used earlier this summer?

Ultimado.

My slightly tongue-in-cheek tribute to Brendan Rodgers’ famous “terminado” moment.

Funny word. Serious point.

I had heard earlier in the summer that Martin was making his feelings perfectly clear behind the scenes about what he wanted from this transfer window.

If Shearer’s information is correct, it appears those frustrations haven’t disappeared.

Quite the opposite.

Gineitis Should Be The Final Straw.

Anthony Joseph reported earlier this week that negotiations had progressed to an advanced stage and that the Lithuanian international was keen on joining Celtic.

Think about where we were.

One of Martin O’Neill’s primary midfield targets.

A 22-year-old Serie A midfielder Celtic had tracked for much of the summer.

A footballer who apparently wanted the move.

Advanced negotiations.

Torino had even strengthened their own midfield, seemingly creating a pathway for Gineitis to leave.

Then nothing.

Shearer’s subsequent information was even more damning.

He reported that personal terms were never agreed and that Michael Nicholson did not progress negotiations to the point where Celtic could actually close the deal.

Other reporting has consistently placed Torino’s valuation in roughly the £8million-to-£10million bracket.

That’s where I lose patience.

We’re not talking about Celtic being asked for £25million.

We’re talking about a fee completely within the realms of what Celtic can afford for a player apparently identified as an important target.

Meanwhile, what happened at the other end of the revolving door?

Reo Hatate went to Burnley in a deal reported at £6.5million plus add-ons, while Johnny Kenny joined Preston for around £3million.

There’s your Gineitis money.

In fact, there’s more than your Gineitis money.

Within essentially the same deadline period, Celtic banked around £9.5million from two players who were leaving the first-team picture and still couldn’t conclude a deal for a midfielder their manager reportedly wanted.

Explain that one to me.

Another Window Where Celtic Make Money.

The exact net figure is difficult to nail down because several Celtic transfer fees are undisclosed and different outlets are working from different estimates.

But the direction of travel isn’t remotely difficult to understand.

Celtic have made substantial money from sales this summer.

Arne Engels went to West Ham for around £22million. Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Johnny Kenny, Luis Palma and others have also generated significant transfer income.

Even after Celtic’s permanent additions are accounted for, current estimates have the club finishing the window with a substantial player-trading surplus.

£20m profit approximately?

So spare me any suggestion that Gineitis was financially beyond Celtic.

Celtic simply refused to meet a perfectly achievable valuation for one of Martin O’Neill’s priority targets.

That is absolutely sickening.

Especially after what happened against LASK.

We Were Told This Summer Would Be Different.

That’s the part I keep coming back to.

This was supposed to be different.

The pathetic “give us a chance” patter from Brian Wilson in that desperate interview a few months back was utter nonsense then and remains so now.

Celtic had just survived one of the tightest title races we’ve experienced in years. Martin O’Neill had returned and dragged the club over the line. Champions League qualification was sitting there waiting to be attacked.

Instead, the manager went into that qualifier with an incomplete squad.

We know what happened next.

Then, once the Champions League opportunity disappeared, Celtic suddenly discovered the ability to complete deal after deal.

Oliver Sørensen arrived on loan. Sam Johnstone came in on loan. Shim Mheuka arrived from Chelsea. Landon Emenalo joined too. Joel van den Berg was bought from PSV and Jordan Lotomba came through the door from Feyenoord.

I’m delighted Martin has more players.

I hope every single one of them is brilliant.

That doesn’t rewrite the summer.

Where were they when Celtic needed them for the Champions League?

More importantly, if O’Neill himself believes having some of those players earlier could have changed Celtic’s European fate, as Shearer reports, then we’re no longer simply listening to supporters complaining about recruitment.

We’re talking about the manager reportedly reaching the same conclusion.

Gineitis Has Kasper Dolberg Vibes All Over It.

I’ve seen this movie before.

There’s always that one big deal.

The exciting one.

The ambitious one.

The player supporters can point towards and think: “Right, Celtic are actually going for it.”

Negotiations rumble on.

Reports become increasingly positive.

Deadline approaches.

We’re told Celtic are trying.

Then somehow, right at the end, it doesn’t happen.

For me, Gineitis has the same vibes as the Kasper Dolberg saga.

Different circumstances, different player, different window — but that familiar feeling remains.

“We tried.”

At what point is trying no longer enough?

Celtic aren’t awarded UEFA coefficient points for nearly signing players.

Nobody hands us a trophy because negotiations reached an advanced stage.

If Gineitis was Martin O’Neill’s priority midfield target, the objective was to sign Gvidas Gineitis.

Not nearly sign him.

I judge Celtic by Celtic’s resources and Celtic’s potential.

Right now I see a club eliminated from the Champions League while once again operating extremely successfully as a business.

That’s great if your primary measurement of success is the balance sheet.

Mine happens to be the football.

Be Very Careful With Martin O’Neill.

This is where Celtic’s hierarchy should be particularly careful.

Martin O’Neill isn’t some young manager desperate to protect his first major job.

He doesn’t need Celtic.

His reputation at this football club was secured decades ago.

Supporters might disagree over whether he’s still the right manager tactically at 74. That’s football. We argue about managers and players every single week.

What I don’t think many Celtic supporters question is Martin O’Neill’s integrity.

That’s enormously important.

If Martin ever reaches the stage where he decides he’s had enough and speaks openly about what has happened behind the scenes, people will listen.

Every single microphone in Scottish football will be pointed towards him.

And Celtic supporters will pay attention.

That’s why I keep returning to my “ultimado” warning.

It was deliberately playful language obviously, but there was a serious point underneath it.

Don’t push this man too far.

If O’Neill asked for specific players before Champions League qualification and didn’t receive them, that’s a problem.

Should he then identify Gineitis as someone he wants and watch Celtic fail to conclude that transfer over a relatively achievable financial gap, that problem becomes bigger.

If all of that happens while Celtic simultaneously finish another window millions of pounds in profit?

Good luck explaining it to him.

That’s why Shearer’s report matters so much to me.

O’Neill reportedly believes Celtic could have been playing Champions League football had the club got players in earlier.

Read that again.

If accurate, our own manager believes Celtic’s recruitment timing contributed to Champions League elimination.

After everything supporters have said this summer, what more warning do people need?

Rodgers criticism of recruitment last summer was about the timing of deals being done too.

Celtic can celebrate their late signings.

The board can point towards the number of players recruited.

They can tell us how difficult transfers are and how hard everybody worked.

Fine.

My eyes are on something else.

Martin O’Neill.

Now another Celtic outlet is reporting he’s unhappy behind the scenes, his priority midfield target hasn’t arrived, the Champions League campaign is already over and Celtic appear to have made another substantial transfer profit.

Perhaps that’s all coincidence.

But if Celtic keep pushing a manager with O’Neill’s standing and integrity towards the point where he decides to tell supporters exactly what has been happening behind those doors, the board might discover something very quickly.

Martin O’Neill doesn’t need Celtic’s hierarchy to protect his reputation.

Celtic’s hierarchy might need Martin O’Neill to protect theirs.

Keep Your Eyes On The Board.