Martin O’Neill is the only glue keeping Celtic together this season.
Without him, Celtic would be in a far greater mess than they already are, with off-field issues, from Dermot Desmond to the now-departed Brendan Rodgers, all making the headlines for the wrong reasons.
One thing is for sure: the Celtic Park faithful are pretty clear in how they feel about Desmond; they want him gone, and for the champions of Scotland to start afresh, from top to bottom, in the summer.
But whilst that is the feeling of quite a lot of Hoops fans from across the world, it’s a viewpoint that isn’t shared by O’Neill.
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Martin O’Neill on how he feels about Dermot Desmond as Celtic fans continue protests
On Wednesday night, Celtic’s clash at Aberdeen was postponed, as Sky Sports released Chris Sutton’s one-to-one chat with his former boss.
As you can imagine, a variety of topics were discussed, including the disconnect from the boardroom to the supporters, and vice versa.
O’Neill made it clear to Sutton that he is ‘indebted’ to Desmond because, without him, he would never have become the manager of Scotland’s greatest club.
The supporters won’t like to hear it, but O’Neill spoke in glowing terms about the man calling the shots at the top of the club.
Chris Sutton: “It’s a difficult period for the club, in terms of there has been bad feeling between the support and the club hierarchy.
“A lot of that has been surrounding the recruitment or lack of recruitment. What’s your take on it all?”
O’Neill: “The major shareholder of the football club, as a person who has brought me three times to the club.
“So, I am indebted in my aspects. I wouldn’t have had the chance to manage Celtic football club had Dermot Desmond not taken me here way back in the year 2000.
“The only bad news I had was that I ended up meeting you (Sutton). But overall, to me, that is very important.
“Way back in the year 2000, he had many bigger names that he could have chosen. That indebtedness I feel.”
O’Neill tells Celtic, ‘I am not a United Nations peacekeeper’
Celtic’s Scottish Cup match against Dundee on Saturday evening is going to see more protests from supporters; this time in the form of a boycott.
O’Neill is only going to be in the dugout until the end of the season, and he explained that he is trying to bring everyone together.
But, at the end of the day, his ultimate goal is to ‘win some football matches’, and not hold the role of a ‘United Nations peacekeeper’, as he bluntly stated.
“I am hoping there could be a reconciliation (between fans and the board), and for the club to go forward in time, it would have to reach that,” added O’Neill.
“Can that be done? But I am not a United Nations peacekeeper here. My job is to try to win some football matches.
“I am hoping that, in time, the two sides, three sides or four sides, whatever it is, can get together and have some reconciliation. It’s the only way forward.”
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