Martin O’Neill has relived Celtic’s unforgettable final-day title win over Hearts, admitting he never thought he would experience scenes like that again at Celtic Park.
The newly confirmed Celtic manager was looking back on some of the biggest moments of his time at the club in a Hoops app video, from the famous 6-2 win over Rangers to Seville and the Treble-winning campaign.
Celtic had to come through one of the most dramatic afternoons in recent memory, with the title race going right to the wire before the Hoops eventually got over the line in front of a roaring Celtic Park.
Watching Lawrence Shankland’s goal back, O’Neill could barely hide his frustration.
He said: (Celtic FC app), “What’s happening here? Oh, God. What a bad goal to concede. They’ve sent it forward, he’s scored a bag full of goals. Just time and space to just head the ball into an empty net, as it were.”
Celtic eventually found their way back into the game before half-time after Kieran Tierney’s cross struck Alexandros Kyziridis’ arm inside the box.
O’Neill had no doubt about the decision.
He said: “We get back into it through a penalty, clear penalty, just before half-time. And the second half is just something special really.”
That second half became one of those Celtic moments supporters will talk about for years.
O’Neill praised the refusal of his side to stop pushing, even when time appeared to be running out.
He said: “Celtic never giving in, going right to the very, very end, missing some chances. Seeing this tipped over the bar, probably me thinking, we’re just running out of time, and perhaps we will not create a chance again. But here is Celo (Saracchi), brilliant little touch.”
Then came the moment.
Callum Osmand pulled the ball back, and Daizen Maeda did what he has done so often in a Celtic shirt.
O’Neill said: “Callum pulling the ball back, and Maeda doing what he did. Young Osmand making a big impact in the length of time that he was on the field, coming back from a serious injury, missed a long time. Maeda thinking that the goal was disallowed, realising it wasn’t.”
Even then, Celtic still had to wait.
Hearts threw bodies forward, including their goalkeeper, in a desperate attempt to rescue something. O’Neill remembered those final seconds vividly.
He said: “And now we’ve got a couple of minutes to wait, to see what Hearts are going to do.
“Obviously worrying times for us, they’re just going to put an awful lot of pressure on to try and score. We block it, a quick realisation that their goalkeeper is down at the right-hand side.”
O’Neill said: “And Callum just going to run it into an empty net, and scenes, unforgettable scenes. And that’s about as fast as I can run. But just magnificent.”
The celebrations that followed were chaotic, emotional and completely unforgettable.
For O’Neill, it was not just another title. It was a reminder of the Celtic Park he knew from his first spell, and a moment he never expected to be part of again.
He said: “Just a really, really special game, special time, speaking to Roy, one of the heroes of this football club. And that, I never thought that I would ever, ever, ever witness anything like that. When I say witness, I mean being involved in it.
“I saw Celtic collect their trophy the previous year. I must admit there was a bit of envy attached to that, but not in my wildest dreams did I think that I’d be watching Trusty from a very close angle, holding up the cup, and Celtic Park in all its glory, reminding me of those days.”
It was some ending to the season.
For Celtic supporters, it was drama, relief and glory all rolled into one. For O’Neill, it was something even deeper.
More than 20 years after his first great spell at the club, he was back in the middle of another Celtic Park moment that will live forever.
