Sam Allardyce states if the LMA would have stopped Martin O’Neill from taking Celtic job for longer

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Celtic fans were pleasantly surprised to see Martin O’Neill return to the Celtic dugout in October.

Brendan Rodgers’ departure was brutal, and it was compounded by Celtic’s woeful performances and results on the pitch.

But O’Neill changed that around, including winning every single one of his domestic matches to close the gap on leaders Hearts in the Premiership table.

However, Celtic opted to bring in Wilfried Nancy after weeks of negotiations rather than stick with O’Neill for a little longer, and it has left Sam Allardyce surprised. 

• READ MORE: Stiliyan Petrov says ‘Martin O’Neill has given Wilfried Nancy the title’, as he sounds Celtic warning

Sam Allardyce on Martin O’Neill not staying on as Celtic’s manager

For those who don’t know, O’Neill is part of the LMA (League Managers Association). When Rodgers eventually speaks about his Celtic exit, it will come through them.

Speaking on his No Tippy Tippy Podcast, Allardyce thinks O’Neill should have stayed in the Celtic job for longer, given the momentum he was building, including the three huge matches coming up.

Celtic hosted leaders Hearts on Sunday, they face AS Roma in the Europa League on Thursday night, and then it’s the small matter of the League Cup final against St Mirren on Sunday at Hampden.

Allardyce stated that there would have been ‘no pressure’ from committee members at the LMA if O’Neill had taken the gig until the end of the campaign, for instance.

And even though O’Neill stated that he wasn’t looking to get the Celtic job permanently, Allardyce was certain that he wanted the role.

“He would’ve wanted to stay, don’t give me that rubbish,” said Allardyce. “Martin would have wanted to stay.

“He wouldn’t have gone in the first place if he didn’t want to stay. Certainly until the end of the season, anyway.

“Everybody loves him up there. I know Martin because he is the chairman of the LMA now. There would be no pressure from us committee members or Richard Bevan that he can’t stay as the manager if he wanted to be. More than welcome. We can easily find another chairman.

“He wouldn’t have gone if he didn’t want to stay. He would have gone, like we all would have done, and say, ‘I will come in. I will show you, and you will want to keep me.’ 

“If Martin thought any differently, I will ask him when I see him. But I would be going and saying, ‘Right, I want you to keep me.’”