---
title: "Martin O’Neill Reacts to Rangers Defeat Ahead of Derby Return"
canonical: "https://readrangers.com/2026/09/17/martin-oneill-rangers-defeat-celtic-reaction/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Graeme Hanna"
section: "Rangers News"
published: "2026-09-17T11:40:57Z"
modified: "2026-09-17T17:28:32Z"
---

# Martin O’Neill Reacts to Rangers Defeat Ahead of Derby Return

## Press Conference Summary: O’Neill Speaks After Ibrox Defeat

Martin O’Neill faced the media inside Ibrox on Sunday afternoon knowing exactly what was coming.

Celtic had just been well beaten by Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup, and the Celtic manager was asked to explain a display he later admitted fell well short of what the fixture demands.

Supporters who watched [the cup victory at Ibrox](https://readrangers.com/2026/09/14/rangers-expose-martin-o-neill-s-celtic-in-3-0-cup-victory/) unfold will recognise the tone of what followed – a manager under pressure, but refusing to hide from it.

O’Neill has been here before, in every sense. Pressed on the reaction from fans and press alike, he was calm and direct.

> “I’ve been here before. I have, honestly. And the reaction is no different to what I would have expected.”

That composure set the tone for a wide-ranging session. O’Neill moved quickly from the result itself to the bigger questions being asked of his squad, touching on mentality, character and the standards required to survive at Celtic.

The full exchange, first published in the [Martin O’Neill media conference](https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/martin-oneill-insists-hes-been-37670634), gives Rangers supporters a clear window into how their rivals are processing the defeat before the sides meet again this weekend.

[HIGHLIGHTS | Rangers 3-0 Celtic | Dan Neil double drives hosts to decisive derby win at Ibrox (embedded)](https://www.youtube.com/embed/rIwLEyPkUpA?feature=oembed)

## Martin O’Neill Transcript & Dissection: Mentality and Character

Asked whether the scale of criticism following an Old Firm defeat was proportionate, O’Neill did not dodge the question.

He accepted that losing to Rangers carries consequences that stretch beyond one afternoon.

> “It’s an absolute crisis if you lose… and at the end of it you don’t want to lose too many, losing too many might end up with you not winning the league. That’s what it’s all about.”

He then turned to the mental toughness he expects from anyone wearing the Celtic jersey, framing it as a demand shared across the city rather than one unique to his own dressing room.

> “What does it take? It takes big character. You have accept the fact that even at home, you misplace the ball two or three times, the crowd can get on you. It happens all over the place but it seems to be magnified. You’ve got to be able to fight that.”

He was equally candid about how management has changed since his own playing days, arguing that modern players still need honesty even if the delivery has softened.

> “I genuinely don’t think that’s the case. There’s more arms round players now. But somewhere you just need to actually be told the truth. I think that’s always the case.”

Read against Rangers’ comprehensive win, the dissection is telling.

O’Neill is not disputing that his players were second best. Instead, he is drawing a line between a poor individual performance and a deeper mentality problem, a distinction that will matter a great deal if Celtic slip again.

Our earlier report on the [tactical flaws at Ibrox](https://readrangers.com/2026/09/13/martin-o-neill-admits-severe-tactical-flaws-after-3-0-celtic-defeat-at-ibrox/) found similar admissions, suggesting this is now a settled part of his public explanation rather than a one-off reaction.

## Rangers Context & Captain Reaction to Cup Defeat

From a Rangers perspective, the value of O’Neill’s comments lies in what they confirm rather than what they reveal.

His side were beaten comfortably enough at Ibrox that questions about shape and effort were always going to follow him into the press room.

> And while the questions asked there about tactics and formations, you always question that. Sometimes you even question it before the game starts. Definitely afterwards.
>
> It’s not to say when we’ve won some matches this season that everything’s been rosy. Far from it. We’ve had to battle through.

O’Neill offered his own blunt summary of the afternoon, acknowledging Celtic never matched Rangers’ intensity.

> “We were beaten on Sunday and we were well below par in the match, in terms of wanting to really battle with Rangers as much as anything else. So that’s something we’ll have to overcome.”

His captain went further. Callum McGregor described Celtic as a team of individuals after the final whistle and said defending with six men behind the ball was never going to be enough against Rangers on the day.

It is a striking admission from a senior player, and one that sits uncomfortably alongside O’Neill’s insistence on collective work rate.

> “The team, collectively, has to do the work. You do the work going forward and you do the work coming back… I’m not saying that wasn’t the hallmark before but certainly since they’ve come back in these spells, that’s been it.
>
> “And I think, genuinely, it has been a hallmark of the teams that I’ve managed.”

The gap between manager and captain here is worth watching. O’Neill talks about work rate as an established identity, while McGregor is publicly flagging a breakdown in exactly that principle.

Readers who followed the earlier [debates over squad mentality](https://readrangers.com/2026/09/13/martin-o-neill-bites-over-mentality-claim-as-rangers-expose-celtic/) will see this as further evidence that the issue runs deeper than one afternoon at Ibrox.

## Fixture Context & Historical Derby Parallels

O’Neill knows better than most that one derby result rarely tells the full story. During his first spell in charge 26 years ago, he watched his side thrash Rangers 6-2 at Celtic Park, only to be beaten 5-1 at Ibrox soon afterwards. He used that swing to put Sunday’s defeat in perspective.

> “We might have won 6-2 a hundred years ago and then got hammered in the next game… But by the time that we had reached Ibrox, we had enough confidence within ourselves that we could see that one as just a really bad day. Now time will tell whether this was just a bad day.”

That history matters because Celtic have little time to dwell on the result.

They open their Europa League campaign against Ferencvaros in Glasgow before hosting Rangers again at Celtic Park at the weekend, a schedule that leaves no room for a prolonged rebuild. Our piece on the [rotation before the fixture](https://readrangers.com/2026/09/10/martin-o-neill-celtic-rangers-fatigue-calculated-rotation/) outlined the demands already facing O’Neill’s squad heading into this run of games.

Asked about the wider picture, O’Neill was realistic about where Celtic sit after missing out on the Champions League.

> “Celtic should be aspiring to play Champions League football. We didn’t make it. You go into this competition. We’d like to try and get off to a decent start. We’d love to qualify if we could.”

He was equally clear that the derby return will look nothing like the cup tie at Ibrox, describing two very different tests ahead of his players.

> “There will be two different games in many aspects, different approaches by the opposition. But they’re big games and that’s what you want.”

For Rangers supporters, that is the line worth remembering.

O’Neill has already shown, in his own managerial history, that a heavy derby defeat can be followed by a very different result.

Whether his current squad has the character he keeps referencing will be tested twice in the space of a week, first in Europe and then at Celtic Park.