![\"Marin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_Celtic-FC-Training-Session-And-Press-Conference-UEFA-Europa-League-202526-League-Phase-MD4.jpg\")
Marin O’Neill and Kasper Schmeichel(Image: SNS Group)<\/p>\nThe Hoops keeper thought he’d seen everything in more than 20 years in the game but the last few weeks have been wild<\/p>\n
18:00, 01 Dec 2025Updated 19:33, 01 Dec 2025<\/p>\n
Marin O’Neill and Kasper Schmeichel(Image: SNS Group)<\/p>\n
No nonsense and definitely no bull either. Kasper Schmeichel reckons old school Martin O\u2019Neill has been exactly what was required in Celtic\u2019s<\/a> hour of need. The great Dane admitted it\u2019s 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\u2019s board.<\/p>\n 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\u2019Neill<\/a> stepped in. His status as a club legend wasn\u2019t in doubt.<\/p>\n But there were questions whether a 73-year-old who hadn\u2019t been in the dugout for more than six years would be the answer to Celtic\u2019s dressing room problems. The response has been emphatic. O\u2019Neill is preparing to sign off after Dundee tomorrow night to make way for Wilfried Nancy<\/a> and the Northern Irishman could hardly have done more.<\/p>\n Six wins out of seven \u2013 including a perfect five out of five domestically \u2013 has fired Celts back towards the top of the table, into the Premier Sports Cup<\/a> Final and back in the mix to get to the Europa League knockout stages. Schmeichel<\/a> has pretty much seen it all after more than 20 years in the game but he admitted O\u2019Neill\u2019s approach has been a breath of fresh air.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cI do love the old school approach to football. I think when you can get a good blend, a good balance, you\u2019ve got something good. And I feel like he\u2019s brought that balance.<\/p>\n \u201cIt very much suits the kind of personality I have as well when it comes to football. It\u2019s been an enjoyable time. I think he and all the staff have come and done a terrific job.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s definitely been very difficult circumstances. I think the thing about Martin is, how can you not learn from someone with that much experience?<\/p>\n \u201cAnd he\u2019s been in this situation so many times before that he’s a calm and composed kind of guy.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd there\u2019s no bull****. He says things as they are. And that\u2019s very refreshing in modern football.<\/p>\n \u201cBut I think football, like any time in life, it\u2019s always about learning and always about being better.<\/p>\n \u201cSo 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel personally I\u2019m learning all the time.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Schmeichel said: \u201cI don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening. I have no idea what\u2019s happening. No one\u2019s told us anything yet.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next game (against Dundee) is the big game and we will take it from there.\u201d<\/p>\n Schmeichel has been part of the Celtic leadership group O\u2019Neill has leaned on in recent weeks and the Denmark no.1 has also been a key man on the pitch.<\/p>\n The 39-year-old didn\u2019t have much to do at Easter Road on Sunday \u2013 until be was called on late on to make a match winning save in the 2-1 victory.<\/p>\n It felt like a mammoth win for Celts, especially with the sides around them all spilling points.<\/p>\n Skipper Callum McGregor said: \u201cI 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.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, off the back of what was a really difficult week, three wins and the team are in good momentum and in a good place.<\/p>\n \u201cPlayers are playing well and obviously winning games.\u201d<\/p>\n The matches are coming thick and fast now too. After Dundee, there\u2019s the showdown with Hearts at Parkhead on Sunday and then the crack at Roma in the Europa League.<\/p>\n No one at Celtic will be looking beyond the Dens men but last week\u2019s stunning victory against Feyenoord in Rotterdam seemed like a game-changer.<\/p>\n It sent confidence soaring \u2013 and it\u2019s also got Europe back on the table for the incoming new manager.<\/p>\n Schmeichel said: \u201cIn 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want to do well in the competition, that\u2019s no secret.<\/p>\n \u201cSo it was an important win, a really important win.<\/p>\n \u201cWe needed that, so we\u2019re very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n Schmeichel wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n The big keeper had to fish the ball out of his net twice in stoppage time \u2013 including after Hoops pal Kieran Tierney\u2019s crucial third goal in the unbelievable 4-2 win.<\/p>\n Schmeichel revealed KT hasn\u2019t put the boot in since \u2013 and he also won\u2019t bear a grudge against the Scots.<\/p>\n He said: \u201cNo, I haven\u2019t spoken to Kieran about it at all. That\u2019s football.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s always going to be a winner, there\u2019s always going to be a loser.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd if it\u2019s not going to be Denmark, then I\u2019m happy for Scotland.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s a country that I started my career very early in (at Falkirk) and a country that\u2019s given me a lot and I have a lot of respect for.<\/p>\n \u201cI have a lot of respect for their players, their spirit, what they create as an atmosphere. \u201cSo, if it wasn\u2019t going to be us\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cLook, it\u2019s not nice that it\u2019s Scotland. But it\u2019s better that it\u2019s them than anyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Hoops keeper thought he’d seen everything in more than 20 years in the game but the last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":293908,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[2817,1669,2600,218,47038,30905,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-293907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-football","tag-celtic-fc","tag-champions-league","tag-europa-league","tag-football","tag-kasper-schmeichel","tag-martin-oneill","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=293907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/293907\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/293908"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=293907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=293907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=293907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_JS388249536.jpg\")
Wilfried Nancy<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1_JS388205016.jpg\")
Kenny McLean’s strike sails over Schmeichel<\/p>\n