Celtic Great Reveals Players’ Mentality Amid Monday Night Opener Shock
Jackie McNamara has waded into the row over Celtic’s 2026/27 fixture opener, insisting the players themselves won’t give it a second thought.
The William Hill Premiership schedule landed yesterday, and Celtic fans were not happy with what they found. Instead of kicking off the title defence on opening weekend, the champions will host Dundee at home on Monday, August 3. For a club used to setting the tone from the first whistle, a Monday night curtain raiser felt like an afterthought, and supporters made their frustration clear across social media within minutes of the fixtures going live.
The reason behind the scheduling quirk has nothing to do with Celtic. The Commonwealth Games track cycling events are taking over the Chris Hoy Velodrome that weekend, and Calvin Harris has Hampden booked for a gig. Celtic released a statement acknowledging the situation was completely out of their hands, but that didn’t stop the backlash from fans who feel their club deserves better treatment when fixtures are drawn up.
McNamara, though, says none of that will register with the players preparing to defend the title.
Speaking with the William Hill Premiership trophy still fresh in mind, McNamara explained that football moves on fast once a season ends. “You don’t get long to celebrate last season,” he said. “It’s gone, it’s history now, it’s ‘what’s the next one?'” For McNamara, that mindset is exactly what separates serial winners from teams that fall away after success.
He believes manager Martin O’Neill will already be drilling that message into the squad ahead of pre-season. “That’s what Martin will be saying when they start back pre-season, that’s the first thing that will be on their mind,” McNamara said. “Let’s go and win it again, let’s go and try and push to get into the league phase of the Champions League and focus on that.”
According to McNamara, the day and time of the opener simply won’t factor into how the players approach it. “This is the first bit when you see the fixture list come out,” he added. “As a player, you say, ‘Right, first game, we’re home to Dundee on a Monday night, let’s make sure we get off to a good start.'”
It’s a fair point. Celtic have just wrapped up a fifth straight title, sealed on the final day against Hearts, and will unfurl the flag before kickoff against Dundee. For a squad with that level of consistency, the calendar slot is background noise. What matters is the result, not the kickoff time.
Fans are entitled to want their club’s biggest moments given proper billing, and the frustration over a flag day buried on a Monday night is understandable. But McNamara’s comments suggest the dressing room sees it differently. For players chasing a sixth consecutive title and a deeper Champions League run, three points against Dundee will matter far more than what day they’re collected.
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