Martin O'Neill Gives All-Time Interview After Celtic Beat Rangers in Dramatic Fashion

Martin O'Neill gave one of his greatest post-match interviews ever after Celtic came out on top in a dramatic Old Firm derby.

The 73-year-old, who was appointed Celtic's interim manager on Monday night following Brendan Rodgers' surprise resignation, says he was given just 10 minutes to make up his mind about a return.

Still, the former Leicester and Aston Villa boss had "no hesitation" about coming in on a short-term basis and was soon on the training pitch preparing for games against Falkirk and Rangers.

The trip to Falkirk on Wednesday was a huge success as goals from Johnny Kenny (2), Benjamin Nygren and Sebastian Tounekti sealed an emphatic 4-0 win.

And on Sunday afternoon, Celtic booked their spot in the Scottish League Cup final with a dramatic 3-1 victory over Old Firm rivals Rangers courtesy of Kenny, Callum McGregor and Callum Osmand.

It was a controversial game, to say the least, as Rangers were reduced to 10 men in the first half, when Thelo Aasgaard received a straight red for a studs-up challenge on Anthony Ralston.

Things got typically heated throughout, but after the full-time whistle, a cool, calm and collected O'Neill was keen to have a laugh on the Hampden Park touchline as he spoke to Premier Sports.

"I was 73 on Monday, and I'm 94 now," he joked, before diving into the questions.

🍀 Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill reacts to beating Rangers in a dramatic Semi-Final

"I was 73 on Monday, I'm 94 now!" 😂#PremierSportsCup | @spfl pic.twitter.com/LGjJiAA7ov

— Premier Sports (@PremSportsTV) November 2, 2025

Firstly, O'Neill was asked if the game might have been too open.

"It was end-to-end," he began. "And part of me enjoyed that, believe it or not. Sometimes, when I thought we would have a little break, Kasper [Schmeichel] gets hold of it and tosses it out quickly to somebody who's absolutely knackered.

"It was a great effort, fantastic – I'm delighted obviously that we won."

One of the punditry team pointed out that Celtic's players have looked far more confident in their previous two games, and asked O'Neill whether he had said anything to inspire them to perform better.

O'Neill replied: "That's very nice of you to say young man, but I shall take no credit whatsoever. I came in here at the end of it. We have a couple of young players who probably don't really know what it's all about, and we've got some serial winners in there. That's really important."

He added: "And the backroom staff for me have been really terrific. I couldn't have seen this (happening). I thought you were going to ask me if I enjoyed it. Not one minute."

Thoughts on O'Neill's start to life at Celtic Park? Let us know in the comments.