| Matches: 2004 | 2005 | League Tables: 2004-05 | Pictures: 2004-05 | Forum |
2004-2005
Following a close race for the SPL title, with Rangers closely following, the club extended their lead at the top of the SPL table to two points as they lined up for the final game of the season, with a win at Motherwell F.C. required to seal the title. With two minutes remaining on the clock, Celtic were leading 1 – 0 — a result which would have handed them the league.
However, Motherwell's Scott McDonald netted two last-minute goals giving the Fir Park side an unlikely victory. Rangers defeated Hibernian F.C. 1 – 0 at Easter Road, thereby winning the league championship title. Earlier in the season Celtic recorded a record seventh straight win over city rivals Rangers.
Celtic ended the season one week later with a 1–0 win over Dundee United F.C. in the Scottish Cup Final, which was marked by fans as Martin O'Neill's final match as manager.
On 25 May 2005, O'Neill announced he would resign as manager of Celtic at the end of 2004/05 season along with first team coach Steve Walford and assistant manager John Robertson. It was widely reported that O'Neill decided to take time out of football in order to care for his ailing wife Geraldine, who is ill with lymphoma.
Martin O'Neill is now recognised as Celtic's most successful manager since Jock Stein, third greatest after Stein and Willie Maley and is credited with helping to restore some pride in Celtic's ability to compete on the European stage. However, O'Neill was not able to emulate Stein's dominance of the game in Scotland and in Europe.