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Martin O’Neill Responds to Celtic Fragility Concern

Martin O’Neill has admitted Celtic may need to look at how quickly they recover from setbacks after the 2-1 Europa League defeat to Celta Vigo.

Martin O’Neill Responds to Celtic Fragility Concern
Celta Vigo’s Javi Rodriguez scores their side’s first goal of the game during the UEFA Europa League match at Celtic Park, Glasgow. Picture date: Thursday October 22, 2026.

Within minutes, Rodriguez struck again from outside the box after Celtic failed to clear properly, leaving O’Neill’s side chasing a match they had looked capable of winning.

Catch up on Martin O'Neill's return as Celtic manager in full.

It was another painful European night for Celtic, who now have no points from their first three league phase matches.

Speaking to Sky Sports Scotland, O’Neill was asked whether there is a concern that Celtic concede again too quickly after suffering a setback in Europe.

He said: “So if it is a recurring theme, then it’s something you’ve got to look at.

“There’s no doubt that the equalising goal did set us back for a moment or two, and we just had to gather ourselves.

“We’ve got to do that maybe a bit more quickly than we did last night.”

Instead, the visitors sensed the shift and punished them almost immediately.

Celtic v Celta
Celta Vigo’s Javi Rodriguez celebrates scoring their side’s second goal of the game during the UEFA Europa League match at Celtic Park, Glasgow. Picture date: Thursday October 22, 2026.

O’Neill was careful not to overstate the pattern, making clear he would need to look at it properly before drawing firm conclusions. But the issue has been raised because it keeps appearing in different forms.

Against Celta, Celtic had the lead, the crowd behind them and a chance to get their first Europa League points on the board. A few minutes later, they were behind and struggling to build any real pressure.

The margins in Europe are often tight, but Celtic cannot keep letting one bad moment become two.

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