Martin O’Neill’s Celtic return was rejoiced by Celtic supporters after the disastrous six-week reign of Wilfried Nancy.
In that short timeframe, Nancy took Celtic from joint-top at the top of the Scottish Premiership table to third place after defeats to Hearts, Dundee United, Motherwell and Rangers.
Celtic sacked Nancy after just 33 days in charge and made another call to O’Neill to come in and save their season.
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Shaun Maloney loving the intensity of the Celtic players!
Responding to that news on Go Radio at the time, former Rangers manager Barry Ferguson was not too happy as he believed Celtic made a great move in getting O’Neill to return.
Unbeknown to Ferguson, O’Neill heard every word Ferguson said as journalist Mark Guidi shares how the Celtic boss reacted to the ex-Ibrox manager’s fears.
Martin O’Neill ‘delighted’ to hear Barry Ferguson’s Celtic pain
O’Neill returned to Celtic while the club was in turmoil and fans are hoping that he can turn the season around.
And after hearing Barry Ferguson fearing that is exactly what could happen, Guidi said the Celtic boss was over the moon listening to his pain.
Guidi told The Go Radio Football Show, “I tell you, when I was with Martin O’Neill on Monday, we were going to the wee gig that he promised to honour.
“We’ve got Go [Radio] on in the car and you’re on. And the admiration that he had for you, he wanted to sign you for Aston Villa.
“And he loved hearing the fact that you said when he left, ‘Oh, I’m delighted that Martin’s away, I’m delighted that he’s left and now I’m worried that he’s back.’
“He loved hearing that.”
What Barry Ferguson actually said about Martin O’Neill’s Celtic return
Ferguson wasn’t shy in admitting that he was scared when he heard that O’Neill was returning to Celtic.
The former Rangers manager said, “I was. Listen, he knows the game. A lot of people go on about his age, he’s 73. Listen, he’s still got the energy. You could see that.
“You could see that the previous time he was in charge for, what, five or six weeks. And then when they decided to bring Wilfred Nancy as a Rangers man, I was delighted because Celtic were struggling, let’s be honest, before Brendan left.
“Were Celtic great to watch? No, they weren’t. And I’m sure all Celtic supporters will agree with that. But what he did was he got the team together. You could see there was a real togetherness with them in that short period of time.
“And they never gave in. And the prime example is St Mirren away, last kick of the ball. I think Dundee at home, they weren’t great.
“I think his final game at Celtic, Martin O’Neill, they weren’t great. You find a way to win. That’s what top managers do.
“So, when he came back, I wasn’t too happy, I’ll be honest.”
You can listen to Ferguson’s fear below:
O’Neill gets to work straight away as he looks to catch Rangers in second place against Dundee United this afternoon.
If the Celtic boss can close that gap then it sets him up nicely for the upcoming Hearts fixture at Tynecastle at the end of January.
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