‘It’s a big boost psychologically’ – O’Neill hails ‘desperately encouraging’ Celtic win over Motherwell

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Martin O’Neill hailed Celtic’s “desperately encouraging” display during their 2-0 victory over Motherwell.

The Hoops returned to the Scottish Premiership summit, thanks to goals from Camilo Duran and Benjamin Nygren at Fir Park.

It was a welcome win for Celtic, who suffered three straight defeats in all competitions prior to the international break.

The margin of victory could have been greater, too, with the visitors registering 15 shots on target to their opponents’ two.

“[I’m] delighted with the performance,” said O’Neill, who oversaw his 250th win in charge of the Hoops. “The team played really well.

“Maybe, we could have scored a few more goals, but we created a lot and that was desperately encouraging.

#MOTCEL | #CelticFChttps://t.co/NEEvz1yUIl

— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC) October 11, 2026

“It’s a big boost psychologically to play as well as we did, and go back to the top of the table.”

Meanwhile, that is now four straight defeats for Motherwell, who are ninth in the table and just three points clear of bottom side Kilmarnock.

“We were the second best team today,” head coach Alfred Johansson added. “We were not sharp enough in and around their box.

“Motherwell has a clear football philosophy. This is something I and the players are fully behind. Building a new team is not done overnight. We will get more players back from injury, young players will grow, but we will not change anything [in terms of style].

“It’s clear we need to improve. We will work hard to do better in the future.”

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