Celtic celebrate Martin O’Neill achievement vs Motherwell that nobody saw coming

Martin O’Neill has a habit of reaching managerial milestones without knowing much about them and in Celtic’s win against Motherwell, the Hoops boss reached another remarkable one.

Celtic’s 2-0 win over Motherwell brought another number to his attention, although the 74-year-old had rather more important matters to deal with at Fir Park.

Three consecutive defeats had put O’Neill under pressure heading into the international break. He needed his players to deliver against Motherwell, and goals from Camilo Duran and Benjamin Nygren secured a result that returned Celtic to the top of the Premiership.

Sunday’s victory was O’Neill’s 250th as Celtic manager, an achievement the club celebrated on its official X account.

From the source ️ We spoke to Martin O’Neill after his 250th win as #CelticFC manager! #MOTCEL https://t.co/t8zYHFXaAK

Asked about the milestone by Sky Sports, O’Neill admitted he hadn’t realised how close he was to reaching it.

“It was mentioned beforehand but I genuinely didn’t know that. I’m glad to be around to do it and there will be a day that I can look back on that.”

It wasn’t the first time he had been caught out by his own statistics. When Celtic prepared to face Stuttgart in February, O’Neill told reporters he had never counted his managerial appearances.

The LMA had contacted him to explain that the European tie would be his 1,000th match in charge. His Celtic record is impressive enough without going through every trophy and European result.

O’Neill won 213 of his 282 matches during his original spell from 2000 to 2005. Since returning last October, he has added another 37 victories, taking in two caretaker appointments and his permanent return in June.

And reaching 250 at Motherwell will have brought back a few memories.

Only last week, O’Neill was discussing his experiences at Motherwell when he mentioned the league title Celtic lost there in May 2005.

“I’ve had good days, bad days at Motherwell,” he said, before recalling that final-day defeat.

Scott McDonald’s two late goals cost Celtic the championship, with O’Neill departing shortly afterwards following a Scottish Cup final win over Dundee United.

His visit in May 2026 went rather differently. Kelechi Iheanacho scored a stoppage-time penalty to beat Motherwell 3-2, keeping Celtic in the title race ahead of their final match against Hearts.

O’Neill described that Celtic victory as incredible when speaking to the media last week. This latest visit was considerably more comfortable. Celtic controlled much of the game, with Motherwell goalkeeper Alex Paulsen preventing a heavier defeat.

Alfred Johansson admitted Celtic’s attacking play had given Motherwell problems, and O’Neill got the performance he had been looking for after a miserable run before the international break.

The Celtic manager has now won another game at a ground he once wished he could forget.

He might not have known it was number 250 beforehand, but Celtic will be hoping he doesn’t have to wait long for number 251.