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    Home»Latest News»Reasons to be cheerful for Celtic supporters – Mika, Jota and Martin O’Neill
    Latest News

    Reasons to be cheerful for Celtic supporters – Mika, Jota and Martin O’Neill

    Jota plays his first game today since his ACL rupture at Tannadice
    David FauldsBy David FauldsOctober 2, 2026Updated:October 2, 2026No Comments4 Mins Read
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    Jota celebrates his goal against the Rangers
    Jota of Celtic celebrates after scoring their team's second goal during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and the Rangers at Celtic Park on September 03, 2022. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
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    Let’s try to find some positivity around Celtic as we get closer to a return to action next Sunday for the Scottish Premiership leaders…

    Mika Baur of Germany
    October 1, 2026 Germany vs. Serbia, Munich, October 1, 2026, Soccer, Nations League, 20262027 Season, Germany vs. Serbia, Mika Baur, Germany. Photo IMAGO

    The Mika Baur dream international debut, making a little piece of history by becoming the 1000th player to play for Germany, will see him return to Lennoxtown in a better frame of mind than he left to join up with Jurgen Klopp’s squad.

    ‘The toughest league in the world’ returns next weekend

    Celtic is going to need all the positivity we can muster inside the club over the next week as we look towards the return to Scottish Premiership action a week on Sunday away to Motherwell.

    Jota
    Jota of Celtic scores their team’s second goal during the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic FC and theRangers at Celtic Park Stadium on September 03, 2022. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

    Superstar from Portugal

    It was at Fir Park that Jota made his Celtic return, breaking down in tears after scoring following a difficult period at both Saudi Pro League side Al-Ittihad and French top flight side Rennes where game-time was hard to come by for the hitherto Celtic ‘Superstar from Portugal’.

    Today Jota makes his latest comeback of sorts when he plays in a specially arranged bounce match at Lennoxtown against Falkirk. It’s a significant stepping stone for the 27 year old whose last action was in the title winning day at Tannadice two seasons ago which saw Jota suffer an ACL rupture injury which has seen him sidelined for the best part of 19 months.

    Jota of Celtic receives treatment
    Jota of Celtic receives treatment before leaving the field during the ScottishPremiership match between Dundee United and Celtic at Tannadice on April 26, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

    Halloween return for Jota is on schedule 

    Jota worked on his recuperation back home in Lisbon with a limited time spend at Lennoxtown.

    His recovery and return to action has been discussed by both Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney in various media conferences and both have signalled a return to the first team around about Halloween.

    Jota of Celtic
    Jota of Celtic takes part in the Celtic Champions Training Day at Celtic Park on July 18, 2022. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

    Today’s game is a significant first step as there is no doubt that Jota rejoining the squad will deliver another feel good factor around the club and will give Martin O’Neill more options in the wide areas.

    Martin O'Neill arrives at the stadium.
    Martin O’Neill arrives at the stadium. Celtic v Rangers. Scottish Premiership. 20 September 2026. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

    No news is good news as far as Martin O’Neill remaining as Celtic manager 

    That of course is assuming that there will be no change at Celtic in the dugout for the game at Fir Park and beyond. After the three recent defeats to the Rangers twice and Ferencvaros, Martin stated that he would take a few days to reflect on matters and consider his own position.

    Since then we’ve heard nothing at all from the club so in the absence of any updates regarding changes we can only assume that Martin O’Neill remains in charge and will return with some thoughts of his own regarding fixing the mess the team ended up in particularly in our most recent match.

    Mika Baur of Germany
    October 1, 2026, Soccer: 20262027 UEFA Nations League, Matchday 3, Germany vs. Serbia, at the Allianz Arena in Munich from left: Mika Baur Germany and Filip Kostic Serbia. Photo IMAGO

    So Mika Baur on cloud nine, Jota on his way back and a refreshed manager looking to get Celtic back on track gives us some reasons to be cheerful…

    HAVE YOUR SAY – Join the Celtic conversation in our comments section below…

    Celtic in the Fifties by Matt Corr
    Celtic in the Fifties by Matt Corr, in two volumes, both published on 4th September 2026 by Celtic Star Books. Click on image to order.

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    Celtic FC Celtic FC News Celtic Shorts Celtic v Falkirk Behind closed doors Jota Jurgen Klopp Martin O'Neill Mika Baur Motherwell v Celtic Scottish Premiership
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    David Faulds

    Founder and editor on Celtic Shorts and publisher on dozens of top quality Celtic books including those on celticstarbooks.com. Founder and Publisher on The Celtic Star ahead of its sale. Earliest Celtic memories are a win over East Fife at Celtic Park and the 4-1 League Cup loss to Partick Thistle as a 6 year old. Best game? Easy 4-2, 1979 when Ten Men Won the League. Email me if you'd like to get involved in our work especially if you would like to join our team of writers. Advertising enquiries also handled by my good self. My email address is editor@celticshorts.com

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