At the beginning of the season, few would have expected Martin O’Neill’s position to come under scrutiny after he salvaged a league and cup double during a difficult campaign in his second stint as Celtic’s interim manager.
Yet the experienced Northern Irishman missed last month’s victory against Kilmarnock following “a minor medical procedure” in hospital, before overseeing a 5-1 defeat by LASK that once again denied Celtic access to the lucrative Champions League.
The 2-1 home victory over Falkirk that followed on Saturday was far from commanding, intensifying concerns among some supporters about the club’s summer recruitment, while assistant Shaun Maloney handled Tuesday’s media duties.
Even so, Celtic have won five of their six matches, with the heavy loss in Austria their only setback, and they enter Wednesday’s encounter with Aberdeen holding a two-point lead at the top of the standings.
Aberdeen manager Stephen Robinson also remains under pressure to win over sections of the support, despite guiding the team away from relegation danger last season and opening the new campaign with six victories and only two defeats.
Confidence has fallen further following Sunday’s home loss to Rangers, and expectations will be limited ahead of the visit to Celtic Park, where Aberdeen have failed to win on their past 14 trips.
Celtic also prevailed in all three encounters last season after Aberdeen narrowly defeated them on penalties in the 2025 Scottish Cup final, while the visitors are now without a victory in 15 away league fixtures.
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