Champions League: Celtic's Martin O'Neill o... — VeyraNews (2026)
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Champions League: Celtic's Martin O'Neill on verge of ended 22-year absence from top table
Duran stars as Celtic ease to comfortable win over LASK
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Champions League: Celtic's Martin O'Neill on verge of ended 22-year absence from top table
Duran stars as Celtic ease to comfortable win over LASK
Twenty-two years have passed since Martin O'Neill last managed a team in the Champions League. By this time next week, he might well be preparing to do so again.
Some of the players O'Neill guided to an unexpectedly impressive play-off victory over LASK on Tuesday were not even alive the last time he was involved in the competition - a goalless group-stage draw with AC Milan at Celtic Park in 2004.
O'Neill is now 74 years old. He spent time in hospital earlier this month after a "small procedure", missing a comprehensive Scottish Premiership win at Kilmarnock as he convalesced.
And yet, he remains the undeniable figurehead at Celtic, the driving force behind last season's success and this season's bright start.
He makes the big decisions and oversees the rest, leaving assistant coaches Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham to do the day-to-day training.
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"Martin is a manager," former Celtic midfielder Scott Brown said on Sportsound. "The times have changed but it is amazing that he has moved with them.
"See the calmness when he talks on radio or TV - he just oozes confidence. You can imagine what he does to fans, to us, to players, he oozes that confidence and that calmness as well."
Austrian champions LASK came into this game in fine form and had chances in Glasgow's east end, but were blown away by three stunning Celtic goals.
Benjamin Nygren fired the opener into the top corner, before summer signing Camilo Duran volleyed in a magnificent second before half-time. And the Colombian forward smashed in his second of the night after Nygren teed him up.
O'Neill is not prone to getting carried away and he was keen to stress the job is not yet done, but it is the latest instalment in a remarkable chapter in his career.
Following Brendan Rodgers' resignation last October, O'Neill came out of retirement to take charge across two interim spells, which culminated in an unlikely league and cup double.
He then agreed to stay on a permanent basis earlier this summer.
"Sometimes it's hard to see what Martin does for the team, but he seems to be able to mould a side," former Scotland winger Pat Nevin said on Match of the Day.
"The great managers do that. It's understanding what players work with other types of players and getting the best out of them.
"The job he did last season was out of this world. Whatever happens, he will always be a legend of the club, but if they have a good run in Europe, that's fantastic."
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At this stage last season, Celtic dropped out of the Champions League with a hugely disappointing defeat by Kazakh outfit Kairat Almaty.
O'Neill was enjoying retirement.
Yet ultimately it was the Northern Irishman who united a divided club and delivered silverware, overhauling Hearts in a gripping title race and beating Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Cup final.
And he continues to take Celtic on an upward trajectory. They are overwhelming favourites to defend their Premiership title and are halfway to the Champions League proper.
"I thought there were periods where we played some really fantastic stuff," O'Neill said of the win over LASK. "There was also periods where they played fantastic stuff. It was really like a basketball game, particularly in the first half.
"We rode a little bit of luck. They started the brighter and it took us time to get going. But when we did, we scored a great goal by Nygren to take a bit of pressure off and then Duran's two goals were fantastic.
"But the game is absolutely in the balance."
LASK twice had goals ruled out for offside and Celtic goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo made eight saves in a contest that was more even than the scoreline suggests.
And O'Neill knows his team have plenty to work on as the season progresses.
"I think we can improve," he said. "But overall, I thought the defending was strong.
"I thought Sinisalo did really great. He made a big save for us at 2-0 - if he doesn't it goes to 2-1 and they are in the ascendancy at that stage.
"I can't take it all in, but I'm sure the rest of the staff and the supporters are thinking this is far from over."
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