Martin O'Neill surprised by hitting 1000th managerial match milestone

Celtic's temporary manager Martin O'Neill expressed genuine astonishment upon learning that he would oversee his 1000th game in charge this week.

The 73 year old from Northern Ireland will hit this significant mark when Celtic face Stuttgart in the first leg of their Europa League play off on Thursday.

O'Neill is currently in his second interim role with the Glasgow club this season, having previously led them from 2000 to 2005.

"It caught me completely off guard since I had never kept track of the matches, honestly," O'Neill commented on Wednesday.

"When the LMA informed me about it the day before, it truly shocked me.

"It feels good to achieve this, quite satisfying, yet I must credit Celtic for making it possible."

Since O'Neill resumed control after Wilfried Nancy's dismissal in January, Celtic have not suffered a defeat.

They now trail Scottish Premiership frontrunners Hearts by just three points, with an extra fixture to play, and have advanced to the Europa League knockout rounds.

When questioned about potentially continuing his time at Celtic past the current campaign, O'Neill responded: "That is too distant a prospect for me right now, truly too far ahead."

Celtic aim to secure a victory in a European knockout matchup for the first time since their 2003-04 UEFA Cup triumph over Barcelona in the fourth round, during O'Neill's tenure.

"This represents a substantial challenge for us," O'Neill noted regarding the encounter with Bundesliga fourth placed Stuttgart.

"Had you spoken to me following the Midtjylland defeat by 3-1, the chances of us being here tonight would have seemed very slim.

"We travelled to Feyenoord and secured an excellent outcome with a 3-1 win, and battled with only 10 players for roughly 60 minutes against Bologna in a 2-2 draw.

"I was determined that those encounters should lead to meaningful progress."