O'Neill set to stay on as Celtic manager

By Chris McLaughlin Scotland sports news correspondent Published 17 minutes ago Martin O'Neill is set to continue as Celtic manager after two interim spells last season culminated in a Premiership and Scottish Cup double. Twenty years on from ending a five-year tenure as Celtic manager, he returned in late October on a temporary basis after Brendan Rodgers' departure, overseeing eight games. O'Neill made way for Wilfried Nancy but the Frenchman left after six defeats and only two wins from eight matches. O'Neill was back as Celtic boss in early January, appointed for the rest of the season. The league title race went to the final day of the campaign, with Celtic beating long-time leaders Hearts 3-1 to finish top. Then, at Hampden two weeks ago, O'Neill won his ninth trophy as Celtic manager with a 3-1 win over Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Cup final. And the 74-year-old has now agreed to stay at Parkhead on a one-year deal - with the option for a further year - after holding talks with the club's major shareholder Dermot Desmond earlier this week. Celtic have yet to officially confirm the appointment. To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, O'Neill reacts after leading Celtic to Scottish Cup final win Across his two spells in the 2025-26 season, O'Neill managed 35 games in all competitions, winning 27 and drawing four. His points average of 2.56 points per game in the league matched his corresponding figure from 2000-05. Robbie Keane, a one-time Celtic player, had been linked with the Celtic manager's job and has reportedly left Ferencvaros. Danish coach Jens Berthel Askou was also mentioned in connection with the Scottish champions before leaving Motherwell for Toulouse. To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, As Premiership winners, Celtic will enter the Champions League in the play-off round, the stage they lost at last term. That resulted in a Europa League berth in the league phase, with O'Neill managing four of those games and the knockout defeat by Stuttgart. Former Leicester, Aston Villa and Republic of Ireland boss O'Neill had also managed Celtic in their November League Cup semi-final win against Rangers at Hampden, with Nancy in charge at the national stadium for the 3-1 final defeat by St Mirren the following month. Rangers were also knocked out of the Scottish Cup by O'Neill's Celtic at the quarter-final stage in March. More to follow. Related topics Scottish Premiership Celtic Football Scottish Football More on this story Does O'Neill want to stay? And can Celtic afford to let him go? Published 23 May Visit our Celtic page for all the latest news, analysis and fan views Get Celtic news notifications in the BBC Sport app Published 18 June 2023