Martin O’Neill has discussed the ambiguity over Celtic’s next manager plans.
The Irishman has now been in charge of 28 games across his two interim spells, making a huge contribution to a season of turbulence on and off the pitch.
With just a month of the season remaining, the identity of Celtic’s next permanent manager remains unknown. As it stands, O’Neill has not ruled out staying on.
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s clash with Falkirk, the 74-year-old provided an update.
Should Celtic make a decision on Martin O’Neill’s permanent future before the end of the season?
Martin O’Neill: no discussions with Dermot Desmond over permanent Celtic job
Asked if he had been involved in any discussions about the permanent job, O’Neill said: “The owner has not even spoken to me about that, not at all.
“Or the board. I swear to you, they’ve not even mentioned it.”
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On the mammoth rebuild awaiting the permanent manager, he continued: “It’s the time for me. It really is the time, honestly.
“I look at you, and I wish I was your age, because I would have the energy and it would not be a problem to me.
“It would not be a problem, absolutely not, about saying, ‘I want to do this for the next eight or nine years or something like this here’.
“Part of my life, not having that much left of it, is that I would like to enjoy. Is this enjoyment? No. Is it perversely some sort of enjoyment? Only if you win.
“We will have to try and act relatively quickly on players. On the larger picture, yeah, I’m looking at this minute at players, but it is strange, because I’m more focused on the matches here.
“So, if you’ve got a spare hour, the scouts are in there, they’re looking at a lot of things, which they should be doing anyway.
“This is the point. Let’s say somebody steps in during the first week of June or something, then [the scouts] should be able to put a lot of this forward to him and say, ‘This is what we’re doing, this is the general consensus that these players are really good’.
“And then it’s up to him to have a look at these players and see.
“If I have seen them and, let’s say by some miracle that I did stay on, then at least I would have an idea about them, but the focus for me at this minute has to be on these last five games.”
Agree or disagree?
O’Neill continues to avoid ruling out a permanent stay, but has suggested with both these comments and previous ones that he is equally reluctant to consider it.
Of course, the outcome of Celtic’s season could sway it one way or another, but you’d like to think that the club are currently preparing for any eventuality… this is Celtic, though.
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