The positive news for Celtic fans is the fact that Martin O’Neill will stay for next season.
But that still doesn’t hide away the issues that dominated for large parts of the recent season, which saw O’Neill guide Celtic to a domestic double.
All season long, Celtic fans protested against the board, only putting that in hibernation during the crucial and now title-defining post-split fixtures.
But amid the news around O’Neill staying, Peter Martin dropped a few warnings to the supporters that everything will remain the same in the boardroom, nobody will leave, and there will probably be ‘silence’ from them this summer.
“Will there be changes at the boardroom level? No,” Martin told PLZ Soccer. “Will Dermot Desmond be leaving Celtic? No.
“I don’t think anybody is going to be sacrificed on that board. They will stay silent over the summer.”
Which players are likely to depart, given that Martin O’Neill will stay?
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Martin O’Neill’s powerless rebuild at Celtic this summer
Brendan Rodgers didn’t get what he really wanted at Celtic, as last summer’s abject and near-costly transfer window proved.
But will O’Neill be provided with what he wants? Peter Martin wanted to point out how the legendary Irishman won’t have the power he did when he first joined in 2000.
The PLZ Soccer presenter explained how O’Neill will be tasked with an ‘overhaul’ of this declining Celtic squad, and how big-name players are expected to leave.
To nobody’s surprise, Martin put forward Daizen Maeda and Reo Hatate’s names, as he also put a question mark over the likes of Arne Engels and Benjamin Nygren.
“A second full-time stint for Martin O’Neill,” said Martin. “There are a lot of questions that are going to be asked.
“Martin will have to try to heal that rift between fans and board. I don’t think he will be able to do that, by the way.
“Will there be changes at the boardroom level? No. Will Dermot Desmond be leaving Celtic? No.
“But I think the fans will go out of their way to try and build bridges or continue the criticism of the way Celtic operate. It’s quite toxic at times between the supporters and the board. I don’t know how they are going to heal that rift.
“I don’t think anybody is going to be sacrificed on that board. They will stay silent over the summer. I think Martin O’Neill will be given the job to try and rebuild Celtic, and what a job he has got.
“He hasn’t got the same power that he had in 2000. I think Martin comes into a very different Celtic for season 26/27. He is going to have to overhaul the squad. He is going to lose a few key players. I think the two Japanese players will leave, whether Nygren or Arne Engels goes, is another matter.”
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