Celtic are Scottish champions… again.
Having finished top of the table in 14 of the past 15 seasons, that may just be the norm in Scottish football. But this season will be remembered for years to come.
Despite being in the lead for only 34 days this season, he finished in a crucial place when it mattered.
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Emotional scenes as Celtic lift the Scottish Premiership trophy after a dramatic final-day clash with Hearts
Although Celtic still had the largest budget and spending power in the league, a number of factors meant the club was losing most of its domestic dominance.
Hearts entered the final day of the season in pole position for the first time in 250 days. The Old Firm duopoly dating back to 1985 was coming to an end.
Club legend Martin O’Neill advances twice. The 74-year-old came out of retirement to lead the Hoops over the line, finishing two points behind Hearts. That’s despite a six-point lead when he took over for the second stint of the campaign.
Find out how the Hoops went from upset to champions in a turbulent season at Celtic Park…
Recruitment
The root cause of Celtic supporters’ unrest this season was Celtic’s reinforcements. When the Hoops were knocked out of the Champions League in the knockout stages after a heroic performance away to Bayern Munich, former manager Brendan Rodgers spoke of his desire to build on that progress.
However, in the summer Celtic sold Nicolas Kuhn and Adam Ider. In addition to Kyogo leaving in January 2025, the Hoops will be letting go of 73 goals worth of talent from last season without replacing them. They also let Greg Taylor leave on a free transfer after failing to agree a new contract with the left-back. They signed Kieran Tierney, Benjamin Nygren and Sebastian Tunekuti (along with a number of project deals), but missing out on Kasper Dolberg, their main striker target on summer deadline day, added fuel to fan discontent.
Kuhn (left) and Keigo (right) both left Celtic last year.
Kelechi Iheanacho joined on a free transfer at the end of the window and, although he has missed a number of games this season due to declining fitness, he has been instrumental in Celtic’s success this season, scoring four of his five goals in the Premiership, including the winning goal in the closing stages.
January couldn’t have gone any better for the Hoops in terms of recruiting. Five loan players arrived, but only Julian Araujo was able to maintain a regular spot in the squad until his season-ending injury last month. After the window closed, Celtic turned their attention back to the free agent market, signing Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. He has also played very little football since joining, but he did score two of the club’s winning goals against Livingston and St Mirren.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain joins after January transfer window
rogers relationship
On April 26, 2025, after winning the league with Tannadice, Rodgers said, “I’ll be here 200 percent next year,” and resigned six months later. It was a huge shock for Celtic to announce the news at 9:48pm on Monday night. From the time Celtic were eliminated in the Champions League play-offs by Kairat Almaty in August until the day he left, Rodgers reflected fans’ frustration with the club’s lack of activity in the summer transfer window.
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In a speech following Rodgers’ resignation as manager, Chris Sutton questioned Celtic’s transfer strategy and suggested the board were not doing enough to support their former manager.
At every press conference, Rodgers would regularly criticize the remaining team’s upper echelons, either darkly or less harshly. Speaking after the 2-0 defeat to Dundee, he said of his situation: “You can’t go to a race and be handed the keys to a Honda Civic and say, ‘I want you to drive it like a Ferrari.’
Dermot Desmond, Celtic’s main shareholder, hit back at Rodgers after his resignation, calling him a “divisive, misleading and self-serving figure”. Desmond accused the former Liverpool manager of trying to incite hatred and abuse against the board. The full statement was an astonishing character assassination of one of Celtic’s most successful managers on the club’s official website. Mr Rogers has yet to publicly respond to the attack from his former boss and has not faced British media since moving to Saudi Arabia.
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Dermot Desmond has revealed a number of differences with former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers over contract negotiations, transfer policy and fan concerns.
Nancy’s plans
Celtic appointed Columbus Crew boss Wilfried Nancy as their new manager in December 2025, after O’Neill took over and steadied the ship. The 74-year-old now came within reach of Hoops leaders Hearts despite an eight-point difference. Celtic saw similarities between Nancy and Ange Postecoglou, both of whom had won titles overseas and were known for their attacking football. The Frenchman was recommended by Paul Tisdale, the club’s head of football operations at the time.
Captain Callum McGregor said Nancy tried to change too quickly after taking over at Celtic.
Nancy’s experiment lasted only 33 days, as the Frenchman lost six of the eight matches he was in charge of, including the League Cup final against St Mirren and the home derby against Rangers. Nancy changed the system as soon as she arrived, but Celtic’s players struggled to adapt. This is the first time since 1978 that they have lost four in a row.
Amid the lack of form, Nancy’s Venn diagram sparked a huge backlash from Celtic fans on social media.
Back-to-back wins against Aberdeen and Livingston led to the signing of Nancy, and it looked like a January transfer would be granted to add much-needed reinforcement to the set-up. However, defeat against Motherwell and Rangers around the New Year sealed his fate as the shortest-serving manager in the club’s history. Tisdale was also relieved of his duties. O’Neal returned quickly.
Fans vs. Board of Directors
“Don’t fall asleep at the wheel” has been the message from fans to boards for quite some time. And after Celtic’s incredible run in the Champions League last season, winning a double, there was optimism and hope among the fan base that they could continue to be a force in Europe’s top competition while maintaining their domestic success. However, after the summer transfer window ended and the team failed to qualify for the Champions League, protests began. A campaign ensued calling for the directors to be sacked and for fans to stop pouring money into the club.
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Celtic fans staged protests during matches, including against Dundee, by throwing hundreds of balls onto the pitch.
The Green Brigade Ultras Group was also suspended for a “safety incident”, but the suspension was lifted on April 7 ahead of the title fight. The club’s general meeting was canceled after 30 minutes due to a protest to the board. Chairman Peter Lawwell said he was forced to resign late last year due to “abuse and intimidation”.
Celtic fans are calling for the resignations of CEO Michael Nicholson, CFO Chris McKay and major shareholder Dermot Desmond. Things have been rocky and a little ugly between fans and the board this season. Despite the title win, some fans feel that the protests are likely to continue.
Peter Lawwell resigned as Celtic chairman late last year after receiving ‘abuse and intimidation’
Mr O’Neill has sought to bridge the gap amid calls for peace and unity. When the Green Brigade were allowed to return, his message seemed to encourage fans to unite behind the team and get them over the line.
o’neil coefficient
Mr. O’Neill was appointed in October following Mr. Rogers’ resignation and returned in January to replace Mr. Nancy.
It’s been 20 years since O’Neill left Celtic, and it was a huge shock when he was appointed caretaker manager last October. He was no longer a football coach. He is a TV and radio pundit and was in the Sky Sports News newsroom not too long ago before finally donning the jersey again to save Celtic.
He had to steer the ship through two confusing situations this season. Celtic were eight points ahead of Hearts when he took over from Rodgers. It only took a few games before Nancy took over to get the team back on par. He also followed up his memorable night in Rotterdam with a 3-1 win over Feyenoord, leading the club to the Scottish League Cup final with victory over Rangers and qualifying for the Europa League.
Celtic advance to Europa League play-offs
In his second appointment this season, the Hoops were six points behind Hearts, but Rangers, under new manager Danny Rolle, have caught up with the Hoops. At that point, O’Neal went back to basics, dismantling Nancy’s failing system and playing to his team’s strengths.
O’Neill sees off Rangers’ bid for title
It hasn’t been great by any stretch of the imagination, but Celtic have always found a way, even when things seem to be over. That says everything about the mentality O’Neal instilled in his team. Their never-give-up attitude was evident in their comeback from a two-goal deficit to beat Kilmarnock 3-2, their comeback from a two-goal deficit against Rangers to take a point, and their 99th-minute win over Motherwell 3-2 at Fir Park. O’Neill is no coincidence. His track record as Celtic manager is incredible, so it’s no wonder there are calls for a statue of the 74-year-old to be installed at Celtic Park.
With Celtic in need of a new manager and major summer reinforcements, change rather than disruption could be in store. For now, O’Neal, his players and fans will enjoy this time and celebrate the title win, but it could be a double title win.
