Martin O’Neill’s return to Celtic has been given a big thumbs up by Andy Townsend and Jeff Stelling.
O’Neill was the talkSPORT duo’s former colleague and both predict that Celtic will bounce back immediately under the Hoops legend’s guidance.
Celtic announced O’Neill as Wilfried Nancy’s successor and the news was immediately welcomed by almost every single Celtic supporter.
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And with the mood at the club being immediately lifted by O’Neill’s arrival, Townsend and Stelling both share their thoughts on Nancy’s time at Celtic, and what will happen now that the Northern Irishman is back in charge until the end of the season.
Andy Townsend says Martin O’Neill could have Celtic ‘in the palm of his hand’
Townsend was crystal clear what he thought of Nancy’s Celtic sacking and said he was ‘staggered’ the Frenchman got anywhere near the job.
Townsend told talkSPORT, “I was staggered Wilfried Nancy even got the job. So yeah, Martin will go in there.
“I tell you, Martin could have a club the size of Celtic in the palm of his hand after they sacked Wilfried Nancy.
“Martin walked back in the door till the end of the season, he could easily have turned around and said, ‘So tell you what, I’ll come. I want another. I want a year, plus what’s left of this season’.
“One and a half year deal. He could easily have done that, and probably got it. But such is his love for the place and the relationship he’s got with supporters and those that run the club, he’s prepared to go in there again.”
Martin O’Neill will give Celtic an ‘immediate uplift’
As Celtic supporters saw when O’Neill first came to the club on an interim basis, the player response was immediate.
Stelling and Townsend expect the exact same response again.
Townsend continued, “Martin will do what experienced managers do. He won’t panic. He won’t be jumping up and down here and there either and try and reinvent the wheel.
“Just do what he did a couple of months ago when he walked in there, very successfully. So, yeah, that’s a very sensible move after a crazy one. As far as I’m concerned.”
Stelling agreed and said, “Nancy was the shortest serving manager in Celtic’s history, you’d imagine there’d be an immediate uplift as far as the players are concerned with Martin O’Neill returning.”
With Celtic’s next fixture at home against Dundee United, the supporters have an immediate chance to welcome O’Neill back to the club and get to see the players’ instant reaction.
The next few weeks will be interesting indeed with Hearts at the end of January and crucial Europa League fixtures coming up.
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