One F in Foley: The Martin O’Neill factor at Celtic back in the year 2000

Alright, I admit it. It’s Thursday evening while I’m writing this, and Celtic have been routed 3-1 by FC Midtjylland on the TV screen across the room from me. It’s a humbling, uneasy watch. 

The commentary team on TNT Sports are chatting more amongst themselves at this stage; probably because there’s not much high-intensity drama to focus on at this late stage of the game. 

READ NEXT: Seamus Carr announced as London Donegal Person of the Year for 2025

On a lighter note, however, seeing Martin O’Neill return as manager a fortnight ago - albeit in a temporary stopgap role - has brought back a wave of nostalgia amid an uneasy time at the club. 

As a secondary school teacher, it never takes the kids too long to work out which football team you support. So it was perhaps a little unsurprising that some asked me some questions like “So who is this O’Neill fella, sir?” Well, here goes. 

Back in 2000
At the turn of the century, Celtic were enduring a period of disarray.. The board’s decision to appoint the inexperienced John Barnes as head coach was backfiring big time. 

On a damp and drizzly night in February in Glasgow, Celtic embarrassingly crashed out of the Scottish Cup to Inverness Caledonian Thistle, and stories of player disputes in the dressing room became public knowledge. 

Barnes was relieved of his post, and crosstown rivals Rangers strolled to a League and Cup double without barely breaking a sweat. Celtic needed a change and soon. 

Fortunately, the man from Kilrea in County Derry was available. O’Neill, a two-time European Cup winner as a player with Nottingham Forest, had been growing an impressive CV as a manager. 

Having consolidated Leicester City as a regular Premier League side, adding to that with a couple of League Cup final successes, he opted to move north and take the managerial reins at Celtic.

It was the first day of June in the year 2000 when he put pen to paper, and when he stood on the steps outside Celtic Park, he told the group of fans who had congregated to see him: 

“First of all, I want to thank you for waiting in the rain … I will do absolutely everything I can to bring some success here to the football club. I am telling you that now.” Cheers go up. A new era began.

Personal Memories 
I remember that same day quite vividly. It was the same day I started my first proper summer job at the pro-shop on the side of Letterkenny Golf Club. 

At the time, I’d no mobile phone - unimaginable for most 15-year-olds now - and even if I had, all it would’ve been able to do was text, call, and play maybe one retro game like ‘Snake.’ 

And yet when the word came through on the radio that ‘Celtic have unveiled their new manager in Martin O’Neill today’, there was a quiet optimism that this was indeed a sliding doors moment. 

I wasn’t much of a golfer. My duties mostly included signing players in on the time sheet and selling them a few chocolate bars and minerals for their round, and the conversations drew a similar pattern that day. 

“I hear your boys have a new manager, young Foley, some would say. Mind you, it was usually followed up with something like ‘let’s hope he does much better than the last fella anyway.’ 

The Debut Season
The summer of 2000 was a great time to be a teenager. It was a time when I’d started to make my own wages, the MTV dance music scene was in full swing, and the first ever series of Big Brother gave us all plenty to talk about when hanging out at the Square or the Four Lanterns. 

When the football season got underway in late July, O’Neill’s new look Celtic started with a bang, winning four of their opening four matches before a meeting with Rangers got closer on the horizon. 

While I was only old enough to buy an Irn-Bru and a packet of bacon fries, McClafferty's Bar on the Letterkenny Main Street was hopping as the Celts thumped Rangers 6-2 in a most memorable win. 

Rewards in Sight
Celtic grew from strength to strength throughout the season. Adding in new players like Neil Lennon, amongst others, created an ever-growing sense of anticipation that trophies were soon to be had. 

Suffice to say they were. Henrik Larsson, the king of kings, had banged 53 goals as Celtic went on to win not one, not two, but all three domestic titles that season. The Treble was theirs.  Looking back, Martin O’Neill’s achievements in that first campaign ignited something in me.

I’d not been doing great in school for a while, but his endeavours were showing me that hard work, dedication, and commitment could be rewarded with success and celebration.  And better yet, there was more success to come in the seasons that followed.