O'Neill Condemns Tennis Ball Protest, Cites Growing Celtic Divide

Martin O'Neill has expressed concern over a widening rift between Celtic supporters and the club's leadership, describing the situation as 'sad.' His comments came after a protest at St Andrews where tennis balls were thrown at majority shareholder Dermot Desmond during a golf event.

Individuals associated with the Celtic Fans Collective reportedly launched balls bearing Desmond's likeness on the 15th green of the Old Course last Saturday. In response, Celtic issued a statement announcing indefinite bans for those involved and a cessation of all engagement with the Collective.

O'Neill drew parallels between the St Andrews incident and previous unsavory events, including those during a cup match at Ibrox in March. "I don't agree at all with what happened up at St Andrews. I don't agree with that at all. I think that it's not Celtic," he stated.

He recalled past instances where Celtic fans were criticized for actions like wearing balaclavas, contrasting it with the club's historical positive image. "What I will say is that when the club came together and it was really big... I can remember the days of having 80,000 people in Seville without an arrest, that's Celtic to me," O'Neill said, referencing a period of strong unity and positive fan behavior.

Disenchantment among some supporters regarding the club's management has led to frequent demonstrations and anti-board chants at matches. O'Neill acknowledged that such off-field issues inevitably affect the players, despite his efforts to focus solely on pitch matters. "I said last season when I came here, first of all, I wasn't sure that it would have affected the likes of Daizen Maeda and people like this here," he admitted. "But I was wrong. Yes, it does. It affects the players. It definitely does."

O'Neill confirmed his commitment to the club, dispelling any notion of resignation after a recent string of defeats, including two losses to Rangers. "There's a long season ahead and it didn't take me long to make my mind up to continue. As long as the football club wanted me, I was happy to do it," he explained.

His primary motivation for continuing is the pursuit of winning the league title again. "I think the main driver was to try and win the league, again. That's really it," he said.

Looking ahead to the match against Motherwell on Sunday, O'Neill provided an update on player availability. Jota is nearing a return from a cruciate ligament injury sustained in April of last year, with a possibility of inclusion in the match-day squad. Alistair Johnston and Callum Osmand are also nearing their comebacks, while Landon Emenalo is set to begin training with the club next week following a loan from Chelsea.

"Jota's been training a wee bit more than Alistair, which is really good. We had a bounce game against Falkirk, which was really good," O'Neill noted. "He's been training with us now for quite some considerable time. But that was the first time he'd played what I would call a semi-competitive game."

Meanwhile, Yang Hyun-jun is sidelined with a hamstring injury, and Cameron Carter-Vickers is undergoing assessment for a strain.