Celtic have gone contract crazy of late.
Even though nobody knows who will be Celtic’s new manager next season, the club handed out new contracts to three players – James Forrest, Liam Scales and Luke McCowan.
In the case of Forrest, it’s just extending his stay in Glasgow by 12 months, while Scales and McCowan signed new deals on Friday.
There are sections of the Celtic Park fanbase unhappy because they want to know who is handing out these new deals when there isn’t a permanent manager in place.
But Martin O’Neill seemed to suggest he had some role to play when talking to Sky Sports, although he wasn’t given a definitive or clear answer.
“There wasn’t a board conference over it,” responded O’Neill on the role he played in the new contracts being handed out. “I think it’s pretty plain to see.
“I have put my tuppence worth in. But regardless of who’s here. I think they will be big assets.”
Do you agree with Celtic’s decision to give Liam Scales a new contract?
What say did Martin O’Neill have in James Forrest, Liam Scales and Luke McCowan’s new Celtic contracts?
What if the new manager doesn’t take to Scales or feels that McCowan isn’t good enough? At the end of the day, Celtic have declined on and off the pitch; something needs to change in the summer.
Plus, with Paul Tisdale out of the door, others will be wondering who on the board is making these calls? This same board that have time and time again made abject call after abject call.
This isn’t singling out Scales or McCowan, but once again questioning Celtic and how they go about their business at the top.
Either way, O’Neill has backed the new deals being handed out, and he has a fair idea to judge, given that he has been in the Celtic building for some while this season.
Perhaps the easiest of them all and the one surrounded by less drama is Forrest’s new contract, and O’Neill couldn’t help but state his ‘big, big impact’ on the champions of Scotland.
Reporter: “Did the board consult you before handing out these contracts? Did you play any sort of role in them?”
O’Neill: “There wasn’t a board conference over it. I think it’s pretty plain to see. Anybody could have seen the impact James has made here. He is still fit at this point. Might not be able to last a consecutive number of matches.
“But at the end of the day, he has still made a big, big impact. He has been a great player here. That’s the most important, and Scales is going in the right direction.
“I have put my tuppence worth in. But regardless of who’s here. I think they will be big assets.”
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