Martin O'Neill compared Celtic Park to the ghost ship Mary Celeste after tens of thousands of seats were left unoccupied during Saturday's 1-1 pre-season friendly draw with Middlesbrough. The protest, a silent demonstration against the club's board and lack of transfer investment, left the stadium resembling the empty stands of the Covid era.
Only around 5,000 Middlesbrough fans filled the away end, while home supporters were scarce, with the top tiers closed and the Jock Stein stand completely barren. Fans refused to pay £20 for a friendly when the squad remains weakened, with key players like Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, and Arne Engels expected to depart, and failed attempts to re-sign Kelechi Iheanacho and Marcelo Saracchi.
O'Neill defends absent fans
Despite the boycott, O'Neill put on a brave face, telling reporters: "In terms of people staying away, I'm delighted people came. It's summer time, secondly it's pretty expensive to come to games now. Life is changing, it's not 25 years ago when you'd fill a stadium for a pre-season friendly." He praised fans for their support during the post-split games, saying: "I thought they carried us over the line."
The match itself saw Celtic fall behind to an early goal from former target David Strelec before new signing Camilo Duran equalised with a smart finish. Duran, who has two goals in two pre-season games, impressed O'Neill: "I think if he stays clear of injury he will be a big asset. He can hold it up, he's incredibly enthusiastic, he can close players down but he wants to play and improve."
James Forrest on transfer hopes
Celtic stalwart James Forrest echoed the need for reinforcements, saying: "Right up until the last day of the window, we've always signed players. There's maybe like five, six weeks left of the window and maybe two weeks to go before the league. The manager and the coaches have said that they want players in and I think it's just natural."
Forrest also highlighted the emergence of academy players like Colby Donovan and Sean McArdle, who impressed against Middlesbrough. "You're always wanting big signings and it gets the fans excited as well. But when players do come through the academy and stay in the team, it's good for the club as well," he said.
Champions League qualifier pressure
With the Premiership season two weeks away and Champions League qualifiers looming, O'Neill needs to strengthen quickly. He expects international players to return for the dress rehearsal against AC Milan next weekend. "All round I think it's a balancing act for us and other teams who have had players at the World Cup. Next week they'll have more training which will be good," he said.
But the manager desperately needs more signings to avoid a full mutiny among the fans, who are growing increasingly frustrated with the board's lack of investment.
