Inside Martin O'Neill's emotional Celtic dressing room address after winning send off as fans bid farewell to 'true great'
Supporters were left calling for a statue to be erected of the Northern Irishman outside of Celtic Park
Martin O’Neill answered Celtic’s SOS call as a legend before and now bows out as a legend forever as he bid an emotional farewell to fans on the pitch after his last game as interim boss.
Now, the 73-year-old final embrace with the Hoops squad he has managed to rejuvenate has surfaced on social media.
O’Neill brought the curtain down on what’s proved a hugely successful caretaker spell in charge of the Parkhead club last night with a 1-0 Premiership victory over Dundee courtesy of Daizen Maeda’s early opener.
Having previously overseen a period of tremendous success as manager between 2000 and 2005, the Northern Irishman made a surprise return to the dugout in the immediate aftermath of Brendan Rodgers’ resignation at the end of October.
What he initially thought would just be a two-week stint in charge turned into an eight-game stretch. During that time, he managed to transform the Hoops’ fortunes through a rocky spell.
O’Neill departs having led his beloved Celts to five league wins from five, a run that has seen them wipe out an eight-point gap and and move back on level pegging with Hearts, with a game in hand. He also led Celtic to the Premier Sports Cup Final at the expense of bitter city rivals Rangers.
Prior to Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Dundee, the club confirmed Wilfried Nancy as their new permanent manager. The 48-year old Frenchman has now officially taken the reins and will be in the dugout for the first time when Hearts visit Glasgow’s east end on Sunday.
Before Nancy officially settled into his new position with a tour of Lennoxtown, O’Neill was given the chance to say a heartfelt goodbye at Parkhead in the aftermath of the Dundee clash.
On the pitch after the full-time whistle, O’Neill told fans how much he’d enjoyed returning to the club. And new footage shows the emotional moment he bids farewell to all of his players for the final time.
Martin O’Neill leaves his mark on rejuvenated Celtic squad
In a video posted by the club’s social media team, O’Neill is seen shaking hands with several players, embracing the likes of goal scorer Maeda, defender Liam Scales and midfielder Arne Engels before passing on some words of wisdom.
He then addresses the rest of the squad, stating: “Seriously, it’s been an absolute privilege. A privilege for me to come back here and work with you lot. I couldn’t say anything higher than you’ve just been really, really fantastic.
“I came in here when I was 73, after the Falkirk game I was 95, but now I’m 23 again. I’m 23 because of you. It’s been a privilege to work with you. A genuine privilege.”
O’Neill’s speech contained another injection of humour as he proceeds to turn towards a member of the squad who cannot be seen – assumed to be Benjamin Nygren – before directing some light-hearted Swedish-related banter his way.
He continues: “Young man – I love the Swedes. You’d be one of the top Swedes. Borg’s my big hero, Abba are a fantastic group and Henrik Larsson is just sensational. You’d be number four. Number four on the list!”
O’Neill then goes around certain players individually, hugging fellow Irishman Johnny Kenny before singling out Scales as a player for the “big moments,” adding: “I can’t ask for many more.”
There’s also extensive praise for skipper Callum McGregor in front of his teammates.
How Celtic fans reacted to Martin O’Neill’s farewell speech
The video was loved by supporters and met with 5.3k likes on X (formerly Twitter), but many were left feeling rather emotional at the sight of O’Neill’s exit.
One fan wrote: “Won’t lie, that definitely brought tears running down my face and a massive lump in my throat,” while a second commented: “Is somebody chopping onions in here.”
A third posted: “I miss Martin O’Neill already. What a manager. Build him a statue” and a fourth said: “Just look at how the players respond to him and embrace him after such a short time. What a manager.”