Martin O'Neill marks 1,000th game as Celtic head to Stuttgart

Martin O’Neill says he takes satisfaction from proving he can still succeed in management as Celtic prepare to visit Stuttgart for his 1,000th game in professional management. He was completely unaware of the milestone until informed this week. O’Neill, 73, is in his second stint in charge of Celtic this season and a third overall, having managed the club from 2000 until 2005.

Reflecting on his return, O’Neill recalled worries about “not ruining anything from 20-odd years ago” and added: “Of course you like showing you can still win, you’d be telling lies otherwise.” He also joked that some older managers had checked in with him, saying it was like them asserting: “We can still do it.” He was in typically entertaining form when remembering the start of his career at Wycombe in 1990.

“I did an interview at Bradford City once,” he said, recalling January 1987 after Trevor Cherry was sacked: 10 were interviewed and he was the only one asked back.

martin o'neill, celtic, stuttgart, 1000th game, wycombe, bradford city, trevor cherry, second stint, professional management, career start