Martin O’Neill and Stephen Robinson face fresh scrutiny when Celtic host Aberdeen at Celtic Park on Wednesday, despite both managers guiding their sides to strong starts in the Scottish Premiership.
O’Neill appeared to have removed any doubt over his position after steering Celtic to a league and Scottish Cup double during his second spell as interim manager. But a minor medical procedure kept the veteran Northern Irishman out of last month’s victory over Kilmarnock, before a 5-1 defeat by LASK in Austria ended Celtic’s hopes of reaching the Champions League.
The European collapse has revived concerns among some supporters about Celtic’s summer recruitment, while Saturday’s unconvincing 2-1 home win over Falkirk did little to settle the debate. Assistant manager Shaun Maloney was sent to face the media on Tuesday rather than O’Neill.
Yet Celtic remain top of the table and have won five of their six matches this season. Their latest victory was secured by a first-half brace from summer signing Camilo Durán, although they had to withstand a second-half fightback from Falkirk.
Aberdeen, meanwhile, arrive in Glasgow with questions of their own surrounding Robinson. The Dons avoided relegation trouble under the former Motherwell manager last season and began this campaign with six victories from their first eight matches, but sections of the support have yet to be fully convinced.
Sunday’s home defeat by Rangers has increased the pressure before a daunting trip to Celtic Park. Aberdeen have failed to win on their past 14 visits to the ground, while Celtic claimed all three meetings between the teams last season.
The Dons do have a recent reminder of their ability to frustrate Celtic, having won the 2025 Scottish Cup final on penalties. They have otherwise struggled away from home, with Wednesday’s match coming as they attempt to end a run of 15 Scottish Premiership away games without victory.
Robinson has urged his players to respond rather than dwell on the Rangers loss. “You can feel sorry for yourself, you can blame everybody else, or you look at what you can do better,” he said in Aberdeen’s match preview. “That’s certainly what we’ll do as a group.”
Celtic will be expected to control the contest as they seek to maintain their perfect league record and put the LASK disappointment behind them. For O’Neill and Robinson, however, the meeting offers an early chance to ease doubts that have emerged despite promising domestic results.
