The Hoops’ boss wasn’t pleased in his post match interview following the heavy Europa League loss to Stuttgart
10:08, 20 Feb 2026Updated 10:43, 20 Feb 2026
Martin O’Neill reflects on 4-1 Europa League defeat to Stuttgart
Boss Martin O’Neill has conceded he will never deal with the intense pressure at Celtic.
That is according to talkSPORT’s Shebahn Aherne – who lifted the lid on an unseen conversation with the Parkhead icon. The 73-year-old is in the midst of his third spell in charge and second this term.
He suffered only his second defeat in the Celtic dugout this term to Stuttgart as the Bundesliga heavyweights dominated at Parkhead in the Europa League. The 4-1 first leg hammering marred O’Neill’s 1000th game in charge and leaves the club on the brink of a European exit.
The match also featured the latest protest from Hoops’ fans against the Celtic board. The game was stopped after just 15 seconds in when punters lobbed balls on the pitch
In an explosive TNT Sports interview, O’Neill called out the Parkhead protestors claiming they “needed their heads checked” while flagging issues around the financial gulf the Hoops face in Europe.
The Hoops icon even floated the idea of a merger between the Scottish Premiership and Premier League. He said: “It’s very difficult for Scottish teams [in Europe]. There’s no money, in that sense.
“You’re talking about Premier League teams, Bundesliga teams buying players for £40m-£50m and them not even playing, not getting into the side. Players in the Premier League in the last couple of seasons have cost £70m or £80m and are transferred for £40m about three months later. So it’s ridiculous.
“We have to try to compete with that. At some stage or another, we have to compete with that. That’s the difficulty of it.
“You’re trying to get players in at low cost because there’s no money. Eventually, if the Scottish Premiership belonged to the Premier League, I don’t think we’d have a problem.”
Celtic boss Martin O’Neill
Speaking after the game on talkSPORT, Aherne noted the financial disparity between the two clubs.
The Celtic diehard said: “When it comes to Celtic in Europe, we spoke about this when they played Roma when Wilfried Nancy was there and the stadium emptied out, Roma are a good side and they have spent £350million on their squad and Celtic can’t compete with that.
“And, we can’t compete with Stuttgart either. Their squad last night is £290million and ours is £110million.
“What we do have is Parkhead and an amazing crowd, and when the home fans start to go against that what have we got? We become a normal club.
“It’s a section of the fan base and we are all frustrated about the board, what help is that going to be when they are playing Stuttgart? We have never won in Germany, so that is us out of Europe. We just have to focus on Hibs at the weekend.”
The broadcaster also revealed conversations with O’Neill, adding: “I was with Martin O’Neill last week at an event and I interviewed him, and he was speaking about how intense the pressure is and how you will never deal with the pressure. You just have to get on with it. 73 [years old] and in that role, hats off to him.”
Get more Daily Record exclusives by signing up for free to Google’s preferred sources . Click HERE.