Martin O’Neill has ruled out leading a Celtic ‘project’ next season.
After securing Celtic’s league and cup double with a win in the Scottish Cup final against Dunfermline, all roads now appear to be pointing towards a permanent stay for the 74-year-old, should he want it.
O’Neill is yet to close the door to the possibility, and after the game, hinted that he may feel that he owes it to Dermot Desmond to remain in post.
In his post-match press conference, however, he did rule out being at the forefront of a new ‘project’… whatever that means.
Give us your gut feeling after the cup final… will Martin O’Neill be Celtic manager next season?
Celtic boss Martin O’Neill: ‘I don’t believe in a project’
Speaking to the media after the game about his future, the interim boss said:“I don’t think I’ll ever lose the hunger.
“I don’t think I’ll lose the passion for the game. Honestly, I really don’t.”
READ MORE: Five best Celtic pics you may have missed from Scottish Cup win vs Dunfermline
“I think when they’re putting a lid on top of me, I think I will jump up and say, well, what’s the score? But I think it’ll be hopefully a Celtic score.
“But yeah, that I don’t know. I did say here, if you were asking me about where you’d start back in a week’s time, I genuinely couldn’t do that.
“I’ll have to have a think. I think in the next week, I’ll meet up with the owner, see what he’s saying. Hasn’t said anything to me.
“So I don’t know whether that’s good news or bad news. But yeah, I will genuinely have a wee look at it to see.
“But I would be thinking that the football club to go forward, to go forward properly, would probably be looking at somebody younger.
“If you’re asking me, would you have a project or something that gets here? No, I couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t have it.
“I’ve never believed in a project anyway, to tell you the truth. But I definitely couldn’t do that.”
DOUBLE COMPLETE 🏆🏆 GIVE US YOUR INSTANT REACTION TO THE SCOTTISH CUP FINAL WIN 👇
Celtic comfortably beat Dunfermline in the final!
As is always the case with Celtic’s hierarchy, we don’t know what the exact plan is — but if you were to take a gamble, you’d bet that Martin O’Neill will be part of it.
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