"I like being able to say I played for Celtic." Coming from a man who played for Manchester United, Aston Villa, and Coventry City, that's not nothing.
Dion Dublin sat down for an exclusive interview and spoke candidly about his single season at Celtic under Gordon Strachan — the green-and-white shirt, the League Cup final goal against Dunfermline, and what genuinely surprised him about life at Parkhead. He also had plenty to say about where this current Celtic side can go in the Europa League.
"Losing is not acceptable — even more than at Manchester United"
Dublin arrived at Celtic at 35 or 36, brought in by Strachan specifically as a trusted option from the bench. "Gaffer, no problem," was his answer when Strachan called. They'd worked together at Coventry, and that trust ran both ways. Dublin signed a two-year deal, stayed for one, and has zero regrets.
He scored a couple of goals that season — including the League Cup final winner against Dunfermline at Hampden — and played alongside Roy Keane, Neil Lennon, and Alan Thompson. But what stuck with him most wasn't the goals or the trophies.
"What you soon come to realise is that if you play for Celtic, you've got to be careful where you go in the city."
And more pointedly: "Losing is not acceptable at Celtic Football Club — even more than at a club like Manchester United. You have to win. You simply have to win."
That culture — the weight of expectation that presses on every player regardless of their pedigree — is something Dublin says he didn't fully appreciate until he was inside it. The other surprise? The sheer dominance in possession. "I sat on the bench thinking, we've got the ball again! We've got the ball again!" He acknowledges that's shifted now, with Hearts and others closing the gap through better recruitment, but during that 2005-06 season, Strachan's Celtic were a different animal.
Martin O'Neill and the Europa League
On the current side, Dublin is backing Celtic to make their mark in the Europa League — particularly under Martin O'Neill, who has returned to the club. The Champions League campaign ended in disappointment in Linz, but Dublin sees a route forward in the second-tier competition.
"I don't know why they can't go far this year," he said. "Martin's got a good squad of players there and I'd love Martin to do something. What a lovely man, what a great manager — and for the people saying he is too old or asking if he's going to leave: leave him alone. It's Martin O'Neill."
Celtic's Europa League odds will be shaped heavily by whether O'Neill can build consistency at this level. The step from the Scottish Premiership to European knockout football has tripped the club up before. But Dublin's read is that this squad has enough, and the manager has the experience to navigate it.
As for his former teammates? Dublin still sees plenty of them. Roy Keane was around just last week. He does work with Chris Sutton. John Hartson gets a special mention — "I love big John Hartson!" And Neil Lennon, when he wasn't managing, was on the media circuit at the same time.
"It's just nice to have it on your CV to say I played for Celtic, albeit for a very short period of time."
For a player of Dublin's career length, that says a lot about what the club means — even to those who only spent a single season there.
