It was a night when the players gave their all and came away with Celtic’s first ever win on German soil. That’s a stat, among a couple more, that the manager only found out about in the post-match rinse. But during the match he did find out about the heart and desire of his players when they showed intent, bravery and no small amount of skill in delivering the win The Irishman said: “I’ve been delighted with the team, absolutely delighted with the side. “The fourth goal really deflated us last week, but if we could contest tonight and maybe get an early goal, or at least not concede early on “What do we do? Well Luke scored a great goal for us within a minute or two of the game and then we’ve got something to go for. “Of course, we were going to be under pressure at times in the match, they’re playing at home, they’re a very good side, my view is that they are very capable of winning this competition, they may or may not do that, but they are very capable of winning it. “But the players showed great determination. At times we played some really nice football as well. ‘I was so proud of the team, so proud of the supporters as well, who kept us going.’ “Overall, it was a brilliant effort, the lads got very tired before the end and we just couldn’t get the ball often enough to press, but overall I couldn’t’ be more pleased. “Heart and desire is something that, in the scheme of things, is still important. “Now heart and desire will not win you every single football match, you’ve got to be able to have the ability to get it down, play under pressure, all those things, but it does help when the going gets tough.” Watch the full interview with Martin O’Neill here:FixturesVfB Stuttgart 1893 AG Vs. Celtic – Thu, Feb 26th 2026, 17:45
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