Martin O’Neill’s post-match comments following Celtic’s defeat to Sporting CP may have been intended to explain the club’s transfer strategy, but instead they have exposed exactly why so many supporters are becoming deeply alarmed.
“I am in constant touch with Michael Nicholson… I think to balance things up we’d have to let a few players go but I’m hoping to be in a position to do that with others coming in.”
Those words should send alarm bells ringing.
Not because players leaving is unusual. Every club sells players. But because Celtic have already allowed a remarkable number to depart.
The exit list now stands at:
- Luis Palma
- Stephen Welsh
- Hayato Inamura
- Kasper Schmeichel
- Kelechi Iheanacho
- Julián Araujo
- Marcelo Saracchi
- Tomáš Čvančara
- Junior Adamu
- Joel Mvuka
- Benjamin Arthur
- Josh Clarke
Against those 12 departures, Celtic have effectively added just two players.
Camilo Durán is a genuine new arrival.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, meanwhile, was already at the club and has simply been retained. That is hardly the fresh injection of quality supporters expect from the wealthiest club in Scotland.
The reality is stark.
Celtic are ten players down.
Yet the message from the manager is that more players need to leave before more can arrive.
That is an astonishing position for Celtic Football Club to find itself in.
I’ll be honest.
This quote gives me the fear.
What I find astonishing is that Martin O’Neill has publicly spoken about “balancing things up” when it’s blindingly obvious Celtic need players through the door now—not after more players are sold. Supporters don’t want to hear about balancing the squad. They want to hear their manager demanding reinforcements immediately.
Listening to those comments, I was left asking one question: where is the urgency? Celtic are already ten players down. This is the wealthiest club in Scotland, yet the message appears to be one of patience rather than pressure. At a time when supporters are crying out for decisive action, I expected Martin O’Neill to be publicly pushing for signings, not talking about further departures before arrivals. Those comments will concern many supporters because they don’t convey the urgency that this transfer window demands.
How can Celtic still be talking about balancing the squad when the squad has already been stripped back?
Where was the planning?
Where was the vision?
Where was the urgency?
Michael Nicholson and those responsible for recruitment have known for months which players were likely to leave. They knew which loans were ending. They knew transfer interest would intensify. They knew exactly what this squad needed before pre-season even began.
The replacements should have been in the building yesterday. Better still, they should have been in from the very first day of the transfer window. Instead, Celtic appear to be repeating the same mistakes that have plagued previous summers, allowing uncertainty to grow while supporters wait for decisive action.
Supporters were promised lessons would be learned after last season.
Have they?
Celtic were four minutes away from losing the league title. That should have been the wake-up call that changed everything. It should have sparked the most proactive recruitment drive in years, with new signings secured early and integrated into the squad long before competitive football returned.
Instead, supporters are hearing that more players need to leave before the squad can be strengthened.
That is not forward planning.
That is not ambition.
That is not how the wealthiest club in Scotland should be operating.
The financial resources are there. Celtic remain in an enviable position compared to every other club in the country. The problem has never been money. The problem is turning that financial advantage into footballing advantage when it matters most.
Martin O’Neill’s words may have been intended to reassure supporters.
Instead, they have done the opposite.
If “balancing things up” means weakening an already depleted squad before strengthening it, then Celtic are taking an unnecessary gamble.
Supporters don’t fear losing players.
They fear a club that never seems ready for the departures it knows are coming.
And after hearing Martin O’Neill’s comments, that fear feels more justified than ever.
Watched the humiliation last night it was four going on eight shipping three goals in seven minutes I know there was a lot of younger players there but is a training camp at start of season not to integrate new signings is Martin starting to play along to those snakes above maybe should have never bothered taking the job as it seems he has no clout just a yes man hopefully I am wrong we are in a very worse place now, can see why Ange and Brendan left this shit show.
Still to replace Kyogo, Khun, Aida, I’m afraid fans are in for a rude awakening if they think Martin will rock the boat. He may have saved our season, and admirably so, but Martin is a DD man, not a ‘fan man’, he is part of our continuity of dysfunction.