Can Martin O’Neill’s Celtic turn the pain of that 3–0 defeat into the response their supporters are demanding when Rangers return to Celtic Park?

Usman DeenSeptember 16, 2026

0 6 minutes read

🚨 CELTIC IN SHOCK AFTER WHAT HAPPENED AGAINST RANGERS — MARTIN O’NEILL NOW FACES A HUGE TEST AT PARKHEAD

The result nobody at Celtic expected

Celtic have been handed a major reality check at the worst possible time after suffering a heavy 3–0 defeat to Rangers in the Scottish League Cup quarter-final.

The result has immediately changed the mood around the club.

Before the Old Firm clash, Celtic had looked extremely strong in the Scottish Premiership. Martin O’Neill’s side had won their opening six league matches, including a narrow 1–0 victory away to St Johnstone just days before the cup meeting with Rangers. Mika Baur scored the only goal of that match to keep Celtic’s perfect league record intact.

But the League Cup brought a completely different story.

Rangers produced a dominant performance at Ibrox, winning 3–0 through two goals from Dan Neil and another from Kevin Kelsy. Celtic struggled to respond as the match developed, with Rangers taking control of the contest and eventually booking their place in the semi-finals.

For Celtic, however, the biggest concern may not simply be the fact that they have been eliminated from another competition.

The bigger question is what this defeat means for the team going into the next Old Firm meeting.

And that match is already waiting.

Martin O’Neill has a huge response to find

Martin O’Neill knows better than most what an Old Firm defeat can do to the mood around Celtic.

The experienced manager returned to Celtic and has already overseen a strong start in the league. Six wins from six had given the team plenty of confidence and placed them in a strong position domestically.

But football can change very quickly.

One weekend you are celebrating another league victory.

The next weekend you are walking away from Ibrox after losing 3–0 to your biggest rivals.

That is exactly the situation Celtic now find themselves in.

O’Neill admitted after the cup defeat that Celtic were outplayed and stressed that his players need to understand the importance of the fixture.

That statement could become extremely important.

Celtic now have the opportunity to respond immediately.

The next league meeting with Rangers is scheduled for Celtic Park, meaning O’Neill and his players will have the chance to put the latest defeat behind them in front of their own supporters.

The six wins before the setback cannot simply be forgotten

It would be easy to look at the 3–0 defeat and conclude that everything is suddenly going wrong at Celtic.

The recent league form tells a different story.

Before the Rangers cup game, Celtic had won all six of their opening Premiership matches. Their latest league victory came against St Johnstone, where Baur scored early in the second half to secure another three points.

That means the Rangers defeat should be viewed in the context of the club’s wider start to the campaign.

Celtic have shown that they can win matches consistently.

They have also shown that they can cope with rotation.

Against St Johnstone, O’Neill made five changes with the Rangers cup fixture in mind. New goalkeeper Sam Johnstone impressed, while several other players were given opportunities.

The problem was that the much bigger test against Rangers exposed areas Celtic will now have to examine.

The question is whether the defeat was a one-off bad performance or evidence of problems that could appear again when Celtic face stronger opposition.

That answer may come very soon.

Rangers have given Celtic something to think about

There is no escaping the fact that Rangers looked stronger during the cup meeting.

The scoreline was convincing, but the performance was also significant.

Rangers pressed with intensity, competed physically and made their opportunities count. Dan Neil scored twice, while Kevin Kelsy added the third to complete a result that sent Rangers into the semi-finals.

For Celtic, there were periods where they struggled to find a response.

One of the biggest issues was the inability to turn possession or attacking moments into enough danger in the final third.

Kasper Høgh, one of Celtic’s major attacking additions, struggled to make the expected impact before being substituted.

That will naturally lead to questions.

Can Celtic’s attack produce more against Rangers?

Can the midfield handle the physical intensity?

Can the defence cope when the opposition increases the pressure?

And perhaps most importantly, can O’Neill change the outcome when the two teams meet again?

The next Old Firm could be completely different

The most interesting part of the situation is that Celtic will not have to wait months for revenge.

The next league Old Firm is already on the calendar.

The teams are due to meet at Celtic Park on September 20.

That gives O’Neill and his squad a very clear target.

A victory would not erase the League Cup elimination, but it would change the conversation around the team immediately.

A poor result, however, would create even more questions.

That is what makes the upcoming match so important.

Celtic’s supporters will expect a reaction.

The players will know exactly what is being discussed.

And O’Neill will have to prepare his team differently after seeing what Rangers were able to do in the cup.

Celtic cannot afford to panic

Despite the defeat, there is an important reason for Celtic supporters not to completely lose faith in the team.

The league campaign remains alive.

Six wins from six had put Celtic in excellent early-season form before the Rangers defeat.

The club still has a long campaign ahead.

A single defeat does not decide a league title.

But the manner of the defeat means it cannot simply be ignored either.

O’Neill now has to use it.

Every big team suffers difficult moments during a season. What matters is what happens afterwards.

Celtic’s response will therefore tell supporters much more than the 3–0 scoreline alone.

If the team returns to its previous league form, the Rangers defeat could eventually become nothing more than a painful cup exit.

If similar problems appear again, then the questions will become much louder.

The pressure is now on the players

Managers receive most of the attention after results like this, but Celtic’s players will also have to take responsibility.

The quality is there.

The league results have already demonstrated that.

But an Old Firm match requires more than technical ability.

It requires concentration, intensity, physical strength and the ability to handle pressure when the opposition starts pushing forward.

Rangers demonstrated those qualities in the cup.

Celtic will need to demonstrate them in the next meeting.

Players who were quiet at Ibrox will have an opportunity to respond at Celtic Park.

That could make the next match particularly interesting.

The atmosphere at Celtic Park will be different

The next meeting will also have a completely different atmosphere.

Celtic will be playing at home, and the supporters will expect the team to react from the opening whistle.

There will be no shortage of motivation.

The players know what happened in the previous meeting.

The manager knows.

The supporters certainly know.

That could create one of the most intense Celtic Park occasions of the early season.

The challenge for O’Neill will be making sure the emotion works in Celtic’s favour rather than becoming a problem.

The team must play with aggression, but it also needs discipline.

It must attack, but it cannot become careless.

And most importantly, it must stay composed if Rangers create chances.

The real Celtic story is only beginning

The 3–0 defeat has created a major talking point, but the season is far from decided.

Celtic have already demonstrated their ability to collect league points consistently.

Now they have been given another challenge.

How will they react after being comprehensively beaten by Rangers?

That is the story supporters will be watching.

Martin O’Neill has experience of the pressure surrounding Celtic and Rangers, and he will know that the next meeting is about much more than three points.

It is about response.

It is about character.

And it is about whether Celtic can show that the cup defeat was an isolated performance rather than the beginning of a bigger problem.

For now, Celtic remain unbeaten in the league and have six wins from six.

But the 3–0 defeat at Ibrox has changed the atmosphere around the club.