Lambert: Celtic Should Not Sack O’Neill After Derby Setbacks

Paul Lambert has thrown his support behind Martin O’Neill, insisting Celtic should not sack the veteran manager despite a painful run of defeats that has raised questions over his future. With the club still two points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership, the pressure has intensified after back-to-back losses to Rangers and a turbulent European spell.

O’Neill weighs up his next move

O’Neill, 74, said he will use the international break to reflect after a run that has included derby disappointment, a home defeat to Ferencvaros in the Europa League, and the shock Champions League collapse to LASK earlier in the season. That 4-0 aggregate lead surrendered against LASK remains one of the most damaging moments of the campaign so far.

The Celtic manager, who returned for a second permanent spell in the summer after two interim stints last season, admitted he is thinking carefully about the bigger picture. After leading the club to a league and Scottish Cup double in his previous short-term spell, he knows the standards he is now judged against.

“I will reflect on the games,” O’Neill said. “I’m not immune from criticism. Absolutely and utterly far from it.”

He added that there is “every reason to ask” whether he can turn things around, suggesting the break could be a decisive moment in his own thinking as much as Celtic’s.

Lambert says the club should not push him out

Former Celtic captain Paul Lambert believes O’Neill has earned the right to decide whether to stay or go. Lambert, who played under him during the manager’s successful first spell, said he would be “shocked and disappointed” if Celtic opted to dismiss him.

“It wouldn’t surprise me if he left. I don’t think he needs it,” Lambert said. “I’d be shocked and disappointed if Celtic sacked him.”

He also argued that O’Neill’s record should carry significant weight. Across his first spell at Celtic from 2000 to 2005, O’Neill won seven trophies and built a reputation that still resonates strongly with supporters.

“He’s got enough credit in the bank,” Lambert said. “It wasn’t that long ago people were shouting for a statue for him, so I don’t think you can go from one extreme to the other.”

A legacy that still shapes the conversation

Lambert described O’Neill as Celtic’s best manager since Jock Stein and said the club had only recently relied on him to steady the ship again. Last season, he helped rescue a side that had been under severe strain after the exits of Brendan Rodgers and Wilfried Nancy.

“They were hanging on by a thread and he turned that around,” Lambert said. “There was only one person who could rescue Celtic last season and he did that.”

That context matters because Celtic’s current problems are not coming from nowhere. The team have looked vulnerable in decisive moments, and the latest derby defeats have only sharpened scrutiny on the squad, the tactics and the mood around the club.

Players under the microscope too

Lambert was particularly critical of some individual performances in the defeats by Rangers, while also taking issue with defender Cameron Carter-Vickers’ comments about Celtic playing “too random” and needing “a script” to follow.

He felt the remarks reflected a wider issue of responsibility being placed too heavily on the manager. “The players need to take responsibility,” Lambert said. “When something is not going right, you look to rectify it, you don’t look to a manager to say ‘do this or do that’.”

His reaction was blunt when assessing the defender’s wording. “That was cringeworthy,” Lambert said. “You’re not making a movie. Solve the problem yourselves.”

The message was clear: Celtic’s problems are bigger than one man, even if the manager sits at the centre of the scrutiny.

What happens next at Celtic?

Celtic’s next steps may depend on what O’Neill concludes during the break. He has the authority of a celebrated past and the immediate evidence of a manager who can still stabilize difficult moments, but the recent defeats have created a real sense of uncertainty.

For now, Lambert’s view is firm. If O’Neill walks, that would be understandable. If Celtic push him out, it would be a far tougher decision to defend.

As the debate continues, the club remain at the top of the table, but the atmosphere around them has clearly shifted. The question is no longer only about form. It is about whether Celtic still believe O’Neill is the man to lead the response.

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