No lessons learned from LASK, in fact after yesterday, it seems as if Celtic have given up learning lessons from anything
Eric Knott 
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - SEPTEMBER 13: Celtic's Callum McGregor looks dejected during a Premier Sports Cup Quarter-Final match between Rangers and Celtic at Ibrox Stadium, on September 13, 2026, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Over the last year or so, we’ve listened to people from within Celtic tell us that lessons have been learned.
We’ve been told that people understand the fans’ concerns.
We’ve been told that we’d have an exceptional transfer window.
And we’ve been told that at Celtic, everything else is secondary to the footballing operation.
If what happened yesterday translates into all of the above, then we’re well and truly on the road to mediocrity.
Yesterday was the day when all of the lies we’ve listened to from Celtic’s Axis of Feeble came home to roost.
And before anybody says this is on Martin O’Neill, let me stop you there.
Yes, yesterday was on Martin O’Neill.
100% it was on Martin O’Neill.
Not since the days of Neil Lennon’s baffling selections have we seen a team selection as mind boggling as yesterday’s.
But everything that went before yesterday is the reason yesterday happened.
Martin O’Neill is in place at Celtic because the board lacked the imagination or ability to land anyone else.
And that is not a slight on Martin O’Neill and his achievements at Celtic, because not one of was disappointed when he got the job.
The alternative was Robbie Keane.
I just don’t think any of us expected capitulations of the magnitude we’ve witnessed against LASK and now the Ibrox side.
Capitulations which have now left serious question marks around Martin O’Neill’s ability to navigate the remainder of this season.
After yesterday, next Sunday has now become a crucial fixture for Martin O’Neill and his coaching team.
Because as the heading of this article says, it seems as if up this point, no lessons at all are being learned at Celtic.
In any capacity.
That needs to change, and change drastically next Sunday.
Otherwise, as I stated in last night’s article, this season for Celtic is in danger of being flushed down the drain.
Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney have a lot of soul searching to do between now and next Sunday.
Because they’ve handed the momentum to Derek McInnes and his Ibrox side.
Up until yesterday, McInnes was winning games by single goal margins.
I doubt that even he expected that one of his easiest games of the season would come against the Champions.
I’m sure he imagined yesterday would be extremely tight.
Not the three goal romp it turned out to be.
Celtic were lucky to leave Ibrox having not conceded more than that.
I’m not going to go into detail about the formation, or the team selection anymore.
I said everything I needed to say about that in last night’s article.
It’s up to Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney to start seeing the things everybody else can see.
Unfortunately for us, they are the only ones who can change this.
Martin O’Neill spoke about changing things in the football set up several times in the run up to, and during this season so far.
Yesterday’s result tells us that, if anything, Celtic have regressed since last season.
If there was ever a time for change, this is it.
Balázs Borbély, the Ferencváros Head coach will be rubbing his hands at the prospect of facing Celtic on Thursday evening.
Especially after studying our performances against LASK and the Ibrox side.
Martin O’Neill needs to think long and hard about the impact another European loss could have on morale heading into Sunday’s fixture against the Ibrox side.
If he is going to make changes, then that is the game in which to do it.
He needs to start by dropping Sebastian Tounekti.
Following that, he needs to take a long hard look at how he is going to utilise the players he has at his disposal.
Shoehorning them into a formation he inherited from Brendan Rodgers is not the way forward either.
Losing against Ferencváros would not be the end of the world.
But losing against them in a similar manner to the way we lost against LASK or the Ibrox side?
That would be unacceptable.
If Ferencváros are used as the template for change, and we witness the green shoots of something positive from that, nobody will complain.
Now is the time to do it.
There is no better time.
It’s time lessons were learned, once and for all.
Key Takeaways
- Celtic fans express frustration over unmet promises from the club regarding transfer windows and football operations.
- Martin O’Neill faced criticism for a baffling team selection, leading to significant defeats against rivals.
- The board’s failure to seek better alternatives for management has raised questions about O’Neill’s ability to lead this season.
- Celtic’s recent capitulations have intensified pressure on O’Neill and his coaching staff to improve.
- There is an urgent need for change within Celtic as the current trajectory threatens the season’s success.
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MON hasn’t a clue. We don’t have a way of playing.
We persist in picking players who have never been and never will be good enough.
MON is Desmond’s apologist.
Until the board goes we shall never improve.
They have held us back for more than 20 years.
Sooner they’re away the better.
Green shoots! Not chutes…🫣
Sad that it’s came to blaming MON, with the squad that he has, I don’t think any change of starting personnel would have made a difference as we got battered and the whole squad is weak. This is all on the board, blaming MON and calling him a board apologist is letting those responsible off the hook again
O’Neill looked like an old man watching neds torch his car. He hadn’t a clue what to do. The entire team apart from young Donovan bottled it. No leadership on or off the park.
He is an old man and it was unfair of the board to appoint him even though it seems they wanted Keane . Like most people I had mixed emotions in his appointment . I didn’t want his reputation damaged .Need to seriously look at getting a manager in . If everything in the garden was rosy then it would be great but this legend looks as if it’s taking a heavy toll on him . It’s too much pressure for a young man never mind martins ages . The board failed us again for not recruiting necessary players but the coaching isn’t much to shout about cause a lot of times teams are playing through our midfield and defence with ease . We have 6 from 6 in the league and we can see that it’s only papering over the cracks . We are in desperate need of direction and players but I can’t see it forthcoming under this regime anytime soon
Can only agree. Too easy to progress to our 18 yard box, the midfield is weak and that just frustrates a defence that has its own frailties. MON needs to get bodies in the middle for Thursday and monitor how more difficult we are to play through. Ferencvaros will fancy their chances against the same shape we had against LASK.
Sinisalo
Scales
CCV
Trusty
Tierney
Baur
McGregor
Chamberlain
Hassan
Hogh
Duran
Not a great deal of time to bed in a new shape, and force players into it, but something has to give here. Not ideal to drop Nygren either, but until we know how more compact and tight a new shape makes us, he has to wait it out and work on his own defensive game. Could obviously make an impact off the bench, and Forrest for Tierney in the latter stages.
Good points, Paul. We should have had players signed in June or July. Instead, Nicholson and the other eejit pissed off on holiday for a whole month between them, wasting valuable time.
Hail Hail.