Celtic's Response to Ibrox Humiliation: A Challenge from Martin O’Neill

Martin O’Neill has challenged his Celtic players to turn the sting of their Ibrox humiliation into fuel for a crucial week in their season.

Beaten 3-0 by Rangers on Sunday, bruised in the stands and on the pitch, Celtic now walk straight back into the fire: European competition on Thursday, another Glasgow derby at Celtic Park on Sunday. There is no soft landing.

O’Neill doesn’t want one.

“You have to hurt a bit. You have to hurt a lot, I think,” he told Celtic Player as he reflected on the defeat. “That’s the way that I spent my career. I probably overindulged in the hurting aspect of the game, but the games have to hurt you both as a player and as a manager.

“After that, then you go and rise above it again. That defines you as much as anything else.”

No excuses. No sugar-coating. Feel it, then fix it.

Pain, then response

The manner of the loss at Ibrox leaves Celtic with questions to answer, and O’Neill made it clear those answers have to come from inside the dressing room as much as from the touchline.

A European tie arrives first, a chance to clear the head and show some resilience before Rangers come to the east end of Glasgow. The schedule is unforgiving, but O’Neill sees an opening in the chaos.

“A big game coming up on Thursday, a big, big game on Sunday, then an international break,” he said. That pause, he believes, can’t just be a breather for those left at Lennoxtown. It has to be an audit.

“It gives you a chance for the non-international players to take stock of what’s happened and say, well, listen, what can I do?

“What can I do better? What can I do now to help the team? What can I do to help myself? Obviously, if you can do those things, then you’re going to help the club.”

The message is simple: no hiding. Use the time, improve, come back stronger.

A word for a Celtic great

Before delving fully into the football, O’Neill paused to pay tribute to one of Celtic’s greatest figures, Danny McGrain, after the announcement of the former defender’s Alzheimer’s diagnosis.

O’Neill worked with McGrain during his first spell in charge at Celtic and spoke with clear admiration.

“Danny was here at Celtic working with the reserves when I came here in my first spell, but just a phenomenal footballer and a really great character,” he said.

The respect runs deep.

“He was just a brilliant player, a great defender, and certainly going forward, he could cause havoc.”

On a week dominated by pain on the pitch, O’Neill’s words carried a different kind of weight when it came to McGrain – a reminder of standards, of legacy, of what Celtic expects from those who wear the shirt.

Eyes on Europe, then Rangers again

Attention now swings to Thursday’s European assignment, where Celtic must show that the Ibrox defeat was a jolt, not a trend.

“It’d be nice to get off to a decent start,” O’Neill said. “It won’t be easy. Nothing is, I don’t think. Nor should it be, really.

“At the end of the day, it’s a European game. Hopefully, we can be up for the game and be ready for the game and then after that, you can concentrate then on Sunday.”

Two games, four days, one demand: a reaction.

The hurt has been acknowledged. What Celtic do with it now will say far more about this team than anything that happened at Ibrox.