Celtic were about 10 minutes away from losing their Scottish Premiership crown. What that would have meant for Martin O’Neill’s future is unclear.
Instead, a late winner from Daizen Maeda and a chaotic title-sealing goal from Callum Osmand claimed the trophy they have dominated in an unforgettable final-day decider against Hearts.
A Scottish Cup triumph followed the next weekend, before O’Neill was confirmed as permanent boss after a tumultuous season in which the 74-year-old had two interim stints at the club where he holds legendary status.
Despite a memorable end to the campaign, a lack of transfer business was again threatening to become the story of another summer at Celtic.
However, the arrival of striker Kasper Hogh for a club-record fee, coupled with a positive pre-season for fellow new attacker Camilo Duran, has somewhat eased the restlessness within the fanbase.
O’Neill has vowed to “drive forward together” and “not rest on past success”, so what could a full season with the Northern Irishman at the helm look like?
The 82 points Celtic finished with last term was the lowest for a champion across a full Premiership season since Celtic themselves hit the same tally in an uncompetitive 2017-18 campaign at the summit.
O’Neill’s side were responsible for 59 of those points across 23 league games in charge over his two spells.
That averages out at about 2.6 points per game. Spread that over a 38-game season and you get a staggering final tally of 99, which resembles O’Neill’s league-winning totals in the early 2000s.
Across his full seasons in charge in his first spell two decades ago, he recorded tallies of 97, 103, 97, 98 and 92, winning the title in three of those campaigns.
He also went unbeaten in cup competitions last term, taking the team to a League Cup final, which they lost under Wilfried Nancy, before winning the Scottish Cup in his second interim stint.
Had Celtic opted against hiring Nancy and kept O’Neill in charge for the remainder of the 2025-26 season, it is very possible they would have finished the campaign with another domestic treble and a greater cushion at the top of the league table.
