Martin O’Neill reflects on ‘sad morning’ at Celtic AGM in first address since chaotic events

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We weren’t even sure if Martin O’Neill would be present at the Celtic AGM…

But he was, and he witnessed a truly incredible run of events. Peter Lawwell called an end to the meeting in the middle of an explosive statement by Dermot Desmond’s son Ross.

At the beginning of the meeting, Michael Nicholson and the Celtic board were booed onto the stage, with giant red cards being shown from the crowd.

After a video was heckled by chants of ‘sack the board’, Lawwell initially adjourned the meeting for 30 minutes. But when they returned to the stage for Desmond’s statement, things went tonto again.

It was an incredible morning, and O’Neill has now discussed it for the first time.

Martin O’Neill on ‘sad morning’ at Celtic AGM

O’Neill and women’s team manager Elena Sadiku must have been wondering what on earth they had got themselves into.

Much (but not all) of the fans’ anger stemmed from a desperately poor summer transfer window which eventually saw previous manager Brendan Rodgers depart.

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That’s the whole reason that O’Neill is here, so you’ve got to feel for him being given ten minutes to decide on his return and ended up in this storm.

Reflecting on the AGM with Sky Sports, he said: “Do you know what, I thought it was a really sad morning. A really sad morning.

“My mind is going back, really, to the greatest manager that there’s ever been in the history of this football club – and in any conversation, one of the greatest of all time – I wonder what Jock Stein would’ve made of it all.

“Because he talked about unity being so important at a football club, because without it, you won’t win. So that was really sad.

“It finished early because it became too raucous. And the bits that I saw – I saw board members saying on video that mistakes had been made, but now’s the opportunity to move on.

“Celtic have had really great success, certainly domestically in the last number of years, a really great run last year in the Champions League…

“And let’s see – I’m not saying that it’s going to happen this particular year – but let’s see in the years to come. Despite the fact that the coefficient is dropping dramatically.

“But let’s see if the football club, and Scottish football in general, can get back to some great years.

“I think it’s owning up to what has happened in the recent past, and just try and put it right. I think that’s the point.

“We all make mistakes. I make six thousand per day, myself. So at the end of it all, that was really sad, because that’s not what Celtic Football Club is all about.”

It looks like O’Neill will take charge of the Hoops’ trip to face St Mirren on Saturday, with no updates yet on their reported pursuit of Wilfried Nancy.