Martin O’Neill will take charge of his 1,000th game as a manager this Thursday night when Celtic play host to VfB Stuttgart in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League play-off. The news of the impressive managerial achievement came as a surprise to the Celtic manager, whose only focus has been on preparing his team for the game. But he would clearly like to mark the milestone with a positive result his team can take to Germany for the second leg next week. Speaking ahead of Thursday night’s European match, the Irishman said: “It’s a real surprise because I’ve never counted the games, so when the LMA did tell me about it yesterday it did come as a big surprise to me. “It’s nice to do and it’s really pleasing, but I have to thank Celtic, otherwise it wouldn’t have happened. “This is a major test for us tomorrow. I’d said in the past that we went to Feyenoord and got a great result there, and then fought with 10 men for about 60 minutes in the match against Bologna. “I didn’t want those games to not count for something, so we beat Utrecht and now we’re here, so we might as well give it a go.“Stuttgart are flying at the moment, they’re fourth in the Bundesliga and in a Champions League position. “We’ve had a look at them and they’re strong, physical and they’ve got a lot of good players, so they will be difficult games for us but while we’re there, let’s go for it.” Celtic face a side who finished just outside the automatic qualification places for the last 16 of the Europa League while, domestically, they currently sit fourth in the league table and come into the match on the back of a 3-1 home win over Cologne at the weekend. So the Celtic manager and his squad are under no illusions as to the tough task which awaits them. “We know it’s going to be a difficult game over the two legs,” Martin O’Neill said. “If it had been condensed to one, then you never know, but I’m going to be positive – we will be and we’ll try and get off to a half-decent start. That will help us. “I don’t want us to be fearful of the games. We’ve got to go in with some confidence and if we didn’t get a lift from fighting back on Sunday, then nothing will give you a lift. That was great. “Now I’m accepting the fact that this is a European night and it is a side who are flying in the Bundesliga, but I think you should leave that aside and let us do as much as we can for ourselves rather than considering what the opposition might to do us.” Watch the manager’s full press conference Reaching 1,000 games as a manager The challenge of VfB Stuttgart Contribution of the new Bhoys Celtic Park’s European reputation Upcoming FixturesCeltic Vs. VfB Stuttgart 1893 AG – Sun, Feb 2nd 2026, 15:00
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