O’Neill received around 250 calls – the majority of which were not pleasant – in the build-up to his side’s title decider against Hearts.

Celtic won the match 3-1. Callum Osmand’s late clincher sparked a pitch invasion, which, in turn, has led to an entire week of fallout.

“It’s remarkable,” O’Neill said. “I expected it. It’s not a problem.”

Hearts voiced their displeasure at how events unfolded after last Saturday’s match, stating that ‘a troubling precedent has been set whereby a pitch invasion can effectively determine the duration of a football match’.

Shareholder Tony Bloom later claimed that two Hearts players had been assaulted on the turf by Celtic supporters.

“I think I heard Tony Bloom saying that there were two players assaulted. It’s not true – if it is, it hasn’t been proven yet,” O’Neill explained.

“I’ve watched the picture back, and I think one of their players actually snaps a phone away from a lad and stamps on it.

“What was remarkable about it was, pitch invasion or not, do you know how took to clear the pitch invasion? Two minutes and 50 seconds.

“For someone to say, without proof at this moment, that the players had been assaulted, I think that’s irresponsible.

“If it is proved that those players had been assaulted, that’s not on. That’s an offence at the end of the day. I think if it’s the case, and it is proved that they’ve been hit, it would be more than an apology from us.”

When Bayer Leverkusen won the German Bundesliga in 2024, fans invaded the pitch after their team went 5-0 up in their championship-clincher. The clock had just struck 89 minutes, but the referee ended the match.

“I’ve seen pitch invasions in the past,” O’Neill added. “I don’t know whether you saw Leverkusen winning the league, and the game is at 89 minutes. The referee decided to stop the game.

“There have been pitch invasions here in this country. There was one at Kilmarnock. There was an invasion of the pitch when they got promotion. Derek [McInnes, now Hearts head coach] was on the pitch at the time.

“Had the situation been reversed, and it had happened at Hearts, I think that there wouldn’t have been the clamour that there has been here.

“You have to take into consideration that outside the Celtic diaspora, and part of Edinburgh, everybody wanted Hearts to win.”

To seal the title, Celtic won all five of their post-split fixtures. The penultimate of those came away against Motherwell last Wednesday night.

A late controversial penalty, converted by Kelechi Iheanacho, proved crucial for O’Neill’s charges. After the match, the 74-year-old’s phone number, which he has had for over three decades, was leaked.

“I’ve changed my telephone number because it was circulated around,” O’Neill revealed. “You want to hear some of the comments on those.

“That was from Wednesday night. I had to change it. It’s not a problem but I’ve had it for 35 years and it was kind of part of me at the end of the day.

“It got circulated somewhere, but they are on tape. It was messages, texts, everything. That was before the game. I decided on Friday that I needed to change it to concentrate on the game on Saturday.

“I haven’t contacted the police yet but I may do. There were only about 250 calls!”

After losing out on the title to Celtic, the Hearts entourage immediately headed for their team bus.

Players arrived back at Tynecastle Park still sporting their full kits. Celtic later apologised to Hearts after they were denied the opportunity to recognise and thank their supporters following the conclusion of the match.

“I believe from some of the coaching staff in the last couple of seasons, when Celtic have won the league, and it’s been all over, St Mirren players packed up and went because they might have been left in traffic for a couple of hours,” O’Neill added.

“I do agree with the football club in apologising for the Hearts players not getting the opportunity to acknowledge their own fans and for their fans to show their appreciation for their efforts.

“Regardless of all of this, Hearts’ participation has made it a season to remember. I’ve not spoken to him, but I’ve shaken hands with Derek, praised him and said he deserves to be manager of the year.”

O’Neill can feel slightly aggrieved not to have won manager of the year himself. Amid myriad turmoil, turbulence, and external doubt, leading Celtic to the 2025/26 title is one of the greatest feats in his lengthy career.

Does he want to stay around as permanent manager this summer?

“Do I really need this at this stage of my life, with the phone calls and changing my number and whatever else? I do think about it,” he admitted. “But it’s worth it.

“It’s whether you’d be up for the challenge again, really. But I think that our football club, we have to really look at it and see that the challenges are coming.

“I genuinely think it’s great that Hearts are coming with a charge, Rangers will get stronger at the end of the day. It’s a call for us to have a look at the situation. But again, that takes a bit of time.

“I’ve not had any word and I don’t expect to have a word with anyone this week anyway. But whatever you do, you don’t get much time when the season starts.

“I think the team are back on June 26 [for pre-season]. We will have a plethora of players coming back, not the boys at the World Cup, but boys that have been out on loan that I’ve never seen.

“So that takes a bit of doing, and whether you’d have the real energy to do that, I genuinely don’t know, honestly.”

He might have changed his phone number, but O’Neill anticipates discussions with Celtic’s principal shareholder, Dermot Desmond, over the permanent position in the near future.

“I would expect him to talk to me,” he said. “I wouldn’t expect him to say, ‘Look, there’s a five-year deal’. If he does, that takes me up to 93!”

Given the extensive nature of the fallout from last weekend’s events, one would be acquitted for forgetting that Celtic can win a double this weekend.

They take on Neil Lennon‘s Dunfermline Athletic in the Scottish Gas Men’s Scottish Cup final on Saturday afternoon.

O’Neill played a pivotal role in Lennon’s career, managing him at Leicester City and then Celtic.

His fellow Northern Irishman later moved into management and, after winning numerous major honours at Parkhead and beyond, is now in charge of Dunfermline.

“Hopefully, this is not a mutual admiration society, but Neil has been brilliant,” O’Neill said of Lennon.

“Seriously, he’s got them up and running just as I expected him to. He’s a proper leader and I always saw that in him as a player.

“He had leadership, a never-say-die attitude and was a very good passer. Neil was a great player and did fantastic for me at Leicester and Celtic.

“His record as a player and manager here is up there with anyone’s.”

Kick-off at Barclays Hampden on Saturday afternoon is at 3pm.