Martin O'Neill's post match media conference at Hampden

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Martin O’Neill, Interim Manager of Celtic, reacts during the Premier Sports Cup Semi Final match between Celtic and Rangers at Hampden Park on November 02, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Q: Martin, in terms of that conversation, if it were to happen, given that you experienced what you did there, being back in the dugout, has that made you more hungry to come back in if that is a conversation?

Martin O’Neill: “Could I defer that answer until Tuesday, and we’ll come back on Tuesday or Wednesday. Alright, okay. Don’t get me wrong, I’m delighted to have won the game. Absolutely delighted to have won it. It’s a really strange feeling to be in the dressing room there at Hampden Park. Really, really strange, I must admit. But, honestly, it’s just nice to win. If it had been the other way around, it would have been a real sickener.”

Sponsor’s Man of the Match Auston Trusty with Callum McGregor and Callum Osmand doing post match interview. Celtic v theRangers. Premier Sports Cup, semi final at Hampden. 2 November 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Auston Trusty hasn’t played a lot of football this season. He’s played, obviously, the two games since you’ve come in. Are you pleased with his contribution so far?

Martin O’Neill: “I thought that he and Scales, in the two games, have been fantastic. I thought Scales was incredible. Trusty has done brilliantly for us. Brilliantly, in the two games. So, I don’t know what’s happened in the past, it was just something that I thought would put him in. The young kid [Dane Murray] who had a difficult time at Hearts, they tell me he’s going to be a player. So, that’s nice to hear. But, we’ll see. The two lads together have been terrific, really, in the two games.”

🗣️ A message from Auston Trusty 🇺🇸@PremSportsTV | @CelticFC pic.twitter.com/nGRAt5AdOx

— SPFL (@spfl) November 2, 2025

Callum McGregor celebrates. Celtic v theRangers. Premier Sports Cup, semi final at Hampden. 2 November 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: Martin, it would be unusual for a club, if they get to the final, to have a different manager for the quarter-final, the semi-final and the final. I don’t think I’ve ever come across that before.

Martin O’Neill: “That is true, and it can happen. Yeah, it can happen, I must admit. Yeah, I hadn’t thought about that. So, that would be definitely a first. Historically speaking, I bet it’s never happened before.”

Q: You’ve played your part in a lot of it?

Martin O’Neill: “A very small part. I think the backroom staff were great for me. Really, really great. So, I’m kind of taking the credit for their effort.”

🍀 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

Johnny Kenny celebrates . Celtic v theRangers. Premier Sports Cup, semi final at Hampden. 2 November 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)

Q: There’s a perception that the two Glasgow clubs are vulnerable this season, in a way that they haven’t been before. Did today show signs of life?

Martin O’Neill: “Signs of life, absolutely. Yeah, just signs of life. That’s it. Hearts have done brilliantly this season. I thought myself, and please, I don’t want to sound patronising when you’ve won the game, but (the)Rangers, I’d been watching from a distance and I thought, well, they’re not that fantastic at the end of the day. And I thought they showed a lot of resilience, and they’re bringing on players who are wanting to take people on. And I’m wondering where they came from, because seriously, I didn’t know. So, I thought they did really, really well. Particularly, obviously, having spent a lot of the game down to 10 men.”

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