The Hoops keeper thought he’d seen everything in more than 20 years in the game but the last few weeks have been wild
18:00, 01 Dec 2025Updated 19:33, 01 Dec 2025
Marin O’Neill and Kasper Schmeichel(Image: SNS Group)
No nonsense and definitely no bull either. Kasper Schmeichel reckons old school Martin O’Neill has been exactly what was required in Celtic’s hour of need. The great Dane admitted it’s been a turbulent campaign for the Hoops with the set back of the Champions League exit and the bitter bust up between Brendan Rodgers and the club’s board.
At one point it seemed the season was heading down the tubes with no gaffer and Hearts heading over the horizon in the Premiership. There were eyebrows raised when O’Neill stepped in. His status as a club legend wasn’t in doubt.
But there were questions whether a 73-year-old who hadn’t been in the dugout for more than six years would be the answer to Celtic’s dressing room problems. The response has been emphatic. O’Neill is preparing to sign off after Dundee tomorrow night to make way for Wilfried Nancy and the Northern Irishman could hardly have done more.
Six wins out of seven – including a perfect five out of five domestically – has fired Celts back towards the top of the table, into the Premier Sports Cup Final and back in the mix to get to the Europa League knockout stages. Schmeichel has pretty much seen it all after more than 20 years in the game but he admitted O’Neill’s approach has been a breath of fresh air.
He said: “I do love the old school approach to football. I think when you can get a good blend, a good balance, you’ve got something good. And I feel like he’s brought that balance.
“It very much suits the kind of personality I have as well when it comes to football. It’s been an enjoyable time. I think he and all the staff have come and done a terrific job.
“It’s definitely been very difficult circumstances. I think the thing about Martin is, how can you not learn from someone with that much experience?
“And he’s been in this situation so many times before that he’s a calm and composed kind of guy.
“And there’s no bull****. He says things as they are. And that’s very refreshing in modern football.
“But I think football, like any time in life, it’s always about learning and always about being better.
“So from my point of view, I always say to any of the lads, you know, you should be absorbing absolutely everything because any kind of experience of that kind of magnitude, you should be learning all the time and I feel like we are.
“I feel personally I’m learning all the time.”
Schmeichel will also be learning about his next boss soon. The long, drawn out process to pinch Nancy from Columbus Crew is almost at an end but everyone in the Hoops dressing room has been more worried about maintaining the recent upturn in form.
Wilfried Nancy
Schmeichel said: “I don’t know what’s happening. I have no idea what’s happening. No one’s told us anything yet.
“The next game (against Dundee) is the big game and we will take it from there.”
Schmeichel has been part of the Celtic leadership group O’Neill has leaned on in recent weeks and the Denmark no.1 has also been a key man on the pitch.
The 39-year-old didn’t have much to do at Easter Road on Sunday – until be was called on late on to make a match winning save in the 2-1 victory.
It felt like a mammoth win for Celts, especially with the sides around them all spilling points.
Skipper Callum McGregor said: “I think you always target these games as ones that you want to win, they will be competitive games, so if you can come through them and be strong, win the game, it really gives you confidence.
“So, off the back of what was a really difficult week, three wins and the team are in good momentum and in a good place.
“Players are playing well and obviously winning games.”
The matches are coming thick and fast now too. After Dundee, there’s the showdown with Hearts at Parkhead on Sunday and then the crack at Roma in the Europa League.
No one at Celtic will be looking beyond the Dens men but last week’s stunning victory against Feyenoord in Rotterdam seemed like a game-changer.
It sent confidence soaring – and it’s also got Europe back on the table for the incoming new manager.
Schmeichel said: “In European performances, sometimes you need something extra special, but you need to be controlled, you need to be composed and I thought we were that all the way through.
“We want to do well in the competition, that’s no secret.
“So it was an important win, a really important win.
“We needed that, so we’re very happy.”
Schmeichel wasn’t quite so happy the previous week, mind you, when his Denmark side had their World Cup pockets dipped by Scotland on that incredible night at Hampden.
Kenny McLean’s strike sails over Schmeichel
The big keeper had to fish the ball out of his net twice in stoppage time – including after Hoops pal Kieran Tierney’s crucial third goal in the unbelievable 4-2 win.
Schmeichel revealed KT hasn’t put the boot in since – and he also won’t bear a grudge against the Scots.
He said: “No, I haven’t spoken to Kieran about it at all. That’s football.
“There’s always going to be a winner, there’s always going to be a loser.
“And if it’s not going to be Denmark, then I’m happy for Scotland.
“It’s a country that I started my career very early in (at Falkirk) and a country that’s given me a lot and I have a lot of respect for.
“I have a lot of respect for their players, their spirit, what they create as an atmosphere. “So, if it wasn’t going to be us…
“Look, it’s not nice that it’s Scotland. But it’s better that it’s them than anyone else.”