Martin O’Neill Media Conference – “We want to try and be proactive”

An interesting mainstream media conference today from Martin O’Neill as he discusses the new contracts signed by James Forrest, Liam Scales and Luke McCowan, ponders Callum McGregor’s future, confirms that Alistair Johnston should be available tomorrow and looks at a possible start for Kelechi Iheanacho. Here’s what was said…

Q: Martin, we’ve just seen the news that Liam Scales has signed a new deal at the club, how pleased are you for him?

Martin O’Neill: “I’m delighted for him, delighted for the football club as well too. He’s certainly proved himself this season. I don’t know what he was like before I came in, but my two spells here, he’s been absolutely outstanding. So I’m delighted that he’s committed to the club.”

Q: How important has he been for you, both on and off the pitch?

Martin O’Neill:  “Well, both really. He’s obviously a terrific lad, but he’s deserved the contract in front of him. I think that he’ll be a solid player for the not-too-distant future, and certainly who knows what might happen in the next few years. But certainly he’s deserved the contract and he’s done brilliantly. Obviously, James got his new contract earlier on this week as well.”

Q: How big a part have you played in helping try and get players tied down?

Martin O’Neill:  “I think in terms of Liam Scales, I would have been encouraging rather than urging, but encouraging the board to extend his contract to get him sorted out. I think James, in that sense, speaks for himself, really. What he’s done, he’s been terrific here. He’s been a really great player. It doesn’t matter who’s going to be the manager, he’s worked on quite a number. And I’m sure he will impress whoever’s coming in at the end of it all. So that is one, I think it was a no-brainer, really. He’s had a big impact here in games. If there was such a thing as sentimentality playing a part in proceedings, which it shouldn’t really do, you’re talking about professional contracts, then he’s deserved that as well. And I think he just wanted to finish his career at the football club. He’s definitely deserved it.”

Q: How important do you feel it is for you to play a big part in that future-proofing for the club beyond the summer?

Martin O’Neill:  “I think those things were pretty obvious, so it’s not as if to say, I genuinely think whoever was going to come in would enjoy working with those players. So I don’t think that that was… It’s not as if to say… You’ve got the January transfer window where you’re thinking, well, I wonder if somebody will like him or whatever the case may be. I think these are just straightforward things that anybody would have done.”

Q: How involved are you, Martin, with new players who may come into the club in the summer?

Martin O’Neill: “Well, obviously, we’ve got a scouting system at this moment. We want to try and be proactive in that sense. There’s a lot of looking taking place at this minute. Well, that would be the same for any club. But from my viewpoint, I haven’t really involved myself. I look at the players, yeah. I have an opinion. But that’s what I have, is an opinion. And my opinion might differ from whoever else might come in.”

Q: Final five games of the season, of course, post-split. How do you feel your squad’s shaping up for this?

Martin O’Neill: “Well, Alistair Johnston is coming back. I’m hoping that he will be in the squad tomorrow. So that’s good news for us. Yeah, we’ve got… We’re getting stronger in that sense. Of course, we’ve missed the big players throughout the course of the year. But nothing can be done about that. But we’re looking forward to it. Let’s give it a go.”

Q: Luke McCowan has also signed a new deal?

Martin O’Neill:  “He’s done really well again for us. I think that, like anything else, he would like to start more games if he could. But he’s been excellent. The first spell that I had, he played wide right-hand side at times, where Yang was playing on the left. And in that position, he was certainly not accustomed to, but he dug in and played it well. He’s essentially a midfield player at the end of it all. And I think, playing out there, I think gave him a new look at the game as well, too. But, no, very pleased with him. Again, he’s a really nice lad.”

Q: Can fans look into that and read that things really are beginning to motor behind the scenes as to already planning for what’s coming?

Martin O’Neill: “Yes, I think that it’s getting back to what happened last season. I think we were going to be, the football club was going to be really proactive, if we can be. There’s a shortened period before the season. It always has been up here, but it’s a shortened period. So, we’ll see. The games are the most important thing at this minute. The time element is kind of short after the season finishes until you go back pre-season. Now, interestingly, something I hadn’t realised… When I say I hadn’t realised, I knew that we have players out on loan. But we are going to have a lot of players coming back here. So, it’s going to be an oversized squad at the time. And that’s something that you would really have to look into.”

Q: I suppose the cynical view, the opposite view would be, why would you not let the new manager have a look at these players and sign them up beforehand?

Martin O’Neill:  “Well, that is a very good… Did you use the word cynical view? I think that’s a very good point you make. Absolutely. So, there’s no point me arguing whatever the case may be, and saying differently. I just think that these… I think that the new manager coming in… I think, one, I think he would accept that he would definitely want these players. Two, are they fit enough to do the job? Yes. Three, are they good enough to do the job? Absolutely.

“Let’s say Liam Scales, he’s 27, 28 years of age, you know, and his contract’s running down at this minute. I think you’d want to do something about it now. And I think that the club would… I think we’d all see that Liam Scales can do it. So, I don’t think that my presence either here or there is going to make a big difference. That’s how I see it. I just think that he’s good enough to play for the football club. Good enough to improve as well, too, as time goes on. And, yeah, that’s probably how I’d see it. And, more importantly, I think that’s how the club see it.”

Q: Kelechi Iheanacho, I think there probably will be a bit of a clamour from supporters to see him play more. What type of role do you see him playing between now and the end of the season?

Martin O’Neill:  “Actually, it’s more important as the weeks have gone on. He came on at Dundee, scored the goal probably at that stage in the proceedings, probably the only one that would have got us the goal at the time. He’s followed that up there by scoring some goals, took them brilliantly. And, yes, I think he would like to start in the game. Daizen Maeda started this press from centre-forward position, got us the goal early on. And, yeah, there’s definitely a case for thinking about Iheanacho starting in matches. I think he would love to do it.

“Not having completed it in 90 minutes for quite some considerable time, as I thought. But he also started as well up at Dundee United. I don’t think it was his fault. He had a great chance. The goalkeeper made a really good save after half an hour in the game. But, I’m not saying it didn’t work for the team as such. But, overall, he has made a big impact in the last couple of weeks. And it looks as if he’s staying fit.”

Q: Is there a balance to strike in terms of not giving him too much football and putting him at risk of picking up another injury?

Martin O’Neill: “No. You know what? You can pick up an injury in training and things like this. I don’t think so. It’s not the way I looked at it 20-odd years ago. I know things have changed and I have to adjust my head to the new-fangled way of thinking and dealing with players. It gets harder every minute. But I have accepted it. In a serious moment, he’s done really well. He’s looking very, very strong. And I think with the confidence now and I think with us showing a serious trust in him now, I think he really wants to do it. And I think that’s a lovely thing about it. You can see that he’s been a player. His control is really good. Honestly, I’ve been really pleased with him. He could easily start. He could easily start in the games.”

Q: Callum McGregor was speaking yesterday about his own future. He was mentioning about pushing on. I know you mentioned previously before about this period maybe being a wake-up call and needing ambition in the summer. Do you echo Callum’s comments? Because obviously you’d want to keep him there as long as possible?

Martin O’Neill: “So, yeah, I don’t know whether it’s a twisting of words, but I think that… First of all, Callum has been, I’ve said this many times, he’s been fantastic here. Fantastic as a captain on the side. Great in the dressing room. More importantly, on the pitch. He’s done really well. So, I don’t know whether it was a tangle of words, I genuinely don’t know this here, but I think that, I’ve mentioned before, I think we want to try and be proactive.

“The club has got to… Whatever happens, it’s a short… It’s a very, very short pre-season. You’re almost back into it again in regards to what you finish. If you don’t finish in the top two, I think you’re back weeks. But when everybody settles down, you’d want Celtic to be really properly competitive. Really competitive. Because you don’t see Hearts going away. You can see Rangers getting stronger. And, yeah, so Celtic have got to be ready for those challenges. And if that’s the clarion call, well, so be it.”

Q: I’d just like to ask you finally about Falkirk. Would you expect that they’ll want to come out and bounce back as quickly as possible from their disappointment last weekend?

Martin O’Neill: “Yeah, very much so. I think that they will be really disappointed not getting to the cup final. And, yeah, I will be… The games that we’ve played have been really tough, you know. Not just the game that we played in Falkirk, but the matches here have been tough. And that’s exactly what I expect.”

Watch Martin O’Neill’s media conference ahead of tomorrow’s Scottish Premiership match against Falkirk at Celtic Park…

More Stories / Latest News

Spirit of ’86 looms over Hearts Scottish Premiership title hopes

Apr 28 2026, 19:25

Three teams, one title, no clue to who wins Scottish Premiership

Apr 28 2026, 14:00

28th April – Five Memorable Celtic Moments on This Day

Apr 28 2026, 10:23