Martin O’Neill has told his Celtic squad that they owe the support a performance in Stuttgart in what may well be his final taste of European football at the club.
A 4-1 defeat in the first leg has left few backing the Hoops to turn this around in Germany. The tie looks gone on paper.
O’Neill is not speaking like a man ready to accept that.
He knows European nights do not come around forever. He knows Celtic cannot treat them as routine. For him, they never were. He said (RecordSport):
“What’s European football meant to me? Everything. It’s meant everything, absolutely everything and this is the whole point.
“It’s what you strive for. Obviously that was spawned, I suppose, from my days at Nottingham Forest.”
That edge still sits with him. The memories of the Seville squad do too.
O’Neill referenced the side he built that reached a UEFA Cup final and went toe to toe with European sides. He is under no illusions about the modern financial gap.
“I was able to bring some really talented players up and we were able to so this and that.
“We could always lose. But we felt as if there was no game that was ever beyond us.
“Even going to places like Liverpool and playing against the likes of Bayern Munich.
“Now, because of the money, there is definitely a gap. But you should still strive for it. In fairness, that’s what the two clubs, Rangers and Celtic, are really all about.”
That is the challenge now. The money is bigger elsewhere. The gap is real. But Celtic have never been built on accepting their place quietly.
There have already been flashes in this campaign. Those were not accidents.
“We are trying to make a fist of this, no question. We had a great effort to beat Feyenoord, did brilliantly in Bologna with 10 men, so now we are in the knockout competition.
“This is what football is all about.
“Even at my age I still get excited about European football. You are looking at some of the young lads here and some of them with a lot of experience, it’s exciting.”
There is no sugar-coating it. Stuttgart hold the advantage and they are a strong side at home.
But thousands have travelled. Flights booked. Hotels paid. Another European trip backed by supporters who rarely flinch.
“We have some travelling fans who have spent money to be here and we owe it to them.”
That is the crux of it. The tie might be hanging by a thread, but Celtic cannot drift through it. O’Neill wants belief. He wants energy. He wants a team that plays like Europe still matters.
For him, it always has.
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