Martin O'Neill insists he is "extremely prepared" to lead Celtic forward following a "time of reflection" during the international break. 

Celtic signed off for the international break with a 1-0 defeat to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership, their second defeat to their Old Firm rivals in the space of seven days. 

In between those two defeats to Derek McInnes' side, Celtic were also beaten 3-0 by Ferencvaros in their Europa League opener, leaving O'Neill under pressure. 

It is the first time Celtic have lost three successive matches in all competitions under O'Neill, prompting the 74-year-old to say "it might be time to wrap it up" in reference to his managerial career. 

O'Neill only signed a one-year deal to stay at Parkhead after two interim spells last season that culminated in a league and Scottish Cup double, and after public support from Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson, he is now ready to face the season head-on. 

"I am extremely prepared now for it," O'Neill said in a club interview. "We had a difficult week. That can happen. You can lose to your arch-rivals, you can lose the European game.

"It's certainly not the end of the world as it seemed to be described as. I thought I would take a bit of time, and it didn't take me that much time to think about it.

"I want to lead the club, I want to try to win the league, and I'm just as determined now than ever before.

"It was a time of reflection for a moment or two, but overall, I'm back, I'm raring to go and the team's ready."

Celtic have only suffered successive league defeats once before under O'Neill, which came in May 2001, and they return to domestic action against Motherwell this Sunday. 

The Hoops have won each of their last six away league games, while the last side to win 7+ in a row on the road in the Scottish Premiership were Celtic themselves from April to December 2024 (10).

Celtic have also won 11 of their last 12 league visits to Motherwell (L1), scoring 2+ goals in each win, and they have a strong overall record against this weekend's opponents. 

Motherwell have won just one of their last 34 league matches against Celtic (D5 L28), although that was a 2-0 win in December last season, while they have lost each of their last three league games, their longest losing run since suffering five successive defeats between January and February 2025.