‘Tears running down my face’ – Celtic fans emotional over behind-the-scenes Martin O’Neill footage
Celtic supporters have been wallowing in self-pity after Martin O’Neill was replaced by new manager Wilfried Nancy.
Nancy has already arrived at Celtic Park ahead of their Scottish Premiership clash against Hearts on Sunday, 7 December, a game which could see them take top spot in the league standings.
Following a fall-out between the board and Brendan Rodgers, O’Neill was called upon by Celtic, immediately becoming the hero in the dugout, losing just one of his eight games in charge.
His last actions were to oversee a 1-0 win over Dundee on Wednesday, 3 December, with Daizen Maeda scoring the only goal, and he took a chance to say goodbye to the players in the changing room.
Martin O’Neill sends one last message to the Celtic dressing room
Cameras followed the Hoops in the changing rooms after the victory, having already recorded O’Neill’s last message to the supporters, but nobody was prepared for the new footage to emerge.
As well as speaking to each player individually, the 73-year-old spoke emotionally to the entire squad, with one supporter questioning, “Is somebody chopping onions in here?”.
Yet another fan questioned the cutting of onions, with multiple people trying to hold back tears after seeing the footage on social media.
- @Celticghirl2904: “Bring tears to a glass eye. God bless Martin O’Neill.”
- @craigybh0y83: “That was nice to see, you can see what every player thought of Martin with the way the players embraced him, thank you Martin, you’ll be missed!!”
- @HarryBradyCU: “Bloody colleague chopping onions whilst I watched that!”
It is safe to say, O’Neill has left a lasting impact, not just on the players but also on the supporters.
O’Neill’s replacement already has a stamp of approval from Giorgio Chiellini
Giorgio Chillieni has already lauded Nancy, referencing his team’s “beautiful style of play”, which should strike fear into the hearts of rival supporters in the Scottish Premiership.
It is likely to take some weeks for the players to adapt to an entirely new style of football, but with the momentum now, the Hoops should have no trouble kicking on at the top of the table.
Both Celtic and Rangers suffered from difficult starts to the 2025-26 campaign, but after going on a five-game winning streak, Nancy’s first job could be taking the team to the top of the division.
Recent history would suggest that might not be as simple as first thought, though. Hearts won the last meeting 3-1, but before that, the Hoops had won all of the last four games between the two sides.