When Martin O’Neill arrived at Celtic for his first tenure 25 years ago, his candid way with the Scottish media immediately grabbed the fans’ attention.
O’Neill took a no-nonsense approach whenever he heard anything that was factually incorrect or just plain wrong about him or his team, as the Celtic boss used to fillet the media with his quick wit and cutting replies.
Celtic fans love that about O’Neill and it seems that the Hoops players really enjoy that approach as well.
Kasper Schmeichel is a veteran and the Celtic goalkeeper has been in the game a long time and even the big Dane has been blown away with how O’Neill treats the players at Parkhead.
Kasper Schmeichel says Martin O’Neill’s Celtic style is brilliant
O’Neill has overseen six wins out of the seven games he has taken charge of as the interim Celtic boss and appears to have got more out of the squad than Brendan Rodgers could towards the end of his tenure.
And it appears that O’Neill’s way of speaking to the players is really popular at Celtic Park.
Schmeichel told the Daily Record, “I think he and all the staff have come and done a terrific job. “It’s definitely been very difficult circumstances.
“I think the thing about Martin is, how can you not learn from someone with that much experience? And he’s been in this situation so many times before that he’s a calm and composed kind of guy. And there’s no bull **** .
‘You’re joking, right?” 🤯
“He says things as they are. And that’s refreshing in modern football. I feel personally I’m learning all the time.”
What Martin O’Neill really thinks about Celtic hero Kasper Schmeichel
That wit, dry humour and honesty that Schmeichel is loving was evident at the press conference before Celtic faced FC Midtjylland.
O’Neill joked about the Celtic goalkeeper, “If he has been, as he has been speaking in Danish (for the Danish media at the press conference), disparaging about me, in that time, and I don’t know about it, then I can be equally disparaging of him.
“Will he ever live up to his father’s reputation? Who knows?
“He hasn’t made a bad attempt at it, anyway. I think he has ten caps to beat his dad, and that’s some going.”
With one more game left of his Celtic tenure, let’s hope that O’Neill’s quick wit will help the Bhoys pick up all three points against Dundee at Parkhead tomorrow night.
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