Celtic hero Martin O’Neill’s trademark humour was on show again in Belfast last night as he picked up a managerial award and had a reply for former boxer Carl Frampton.

O’Neill was honoured at the Belfast Telegraph Sports Awards, taking home a special recognition award at the event.

The 74-year-old was also honoured alongside his Northern Ireland team-mates from the 1982 World Cup in Spain, where they picked up the Hall of Fame Award.

O’Neill was naturally asked about his Celtic future, to which he remained fairly tight-lipped, but did mention whether he had the energy to continue in the managerial role. 

And he, of course, had time to light up the room with a humorous comeback for Rangers-supporting former boxer Carl Frampton.

O’Neill was speaking about how his two interim spells at the Hoops came about this season, talks with major shareholder Dermot Desmond, and the disastrous Wilfried Nancy spell. He said (@TheParkheadF on X):

“So I did the first spell, then they appointed another manager. Which things didn’t go for him, which is the nature of the game.”

Frampton then replied: “Should’ve kept him Martin.”

To which O’Neill replied: “Was that a crass comment you made? You know I am actually bigger than you!”

Martin O’Neill speaking tonight and I can already sense Carl Frampton raging like his little buddy Bryson 🤣🍀 pic.twitter.com/Ds9mrowzrG

— The Parkhead Faithful (@TheParkheadF) May 28, 2026

All a bit of banter at the end of the day.

O’Neill always knows when to chime in with a light-hearted joke that will have the room laughing.

His personality is a big reason why players and coaches take to him so quickly. But whether we will see that in the dugout next season remains to be seen.

He remains an option to stay on for at least another year at the club, but Robbie Keane has been another name closely linked with the manager’s position.

Interviews for the role have reportedly been delayed, so we won’t know who’ll be at the helm until next week at the earliest.