Jackie McNamara has raised a question Celtic supporters are increasingly starting to ask themselves, should the club choose stability over another gamble with Martin O’Neill?
That does not mean abandoning long-term planning. It does not mean pretending Celtic should permanently keep looking backwards either.
But after a season that has already seen three managerial eras, there is at least a serious argument for continuity now.
Should Celtic make a decision on Martin O’Neill’s permanent future before the end of the season?
Jackie McNamara’s comments are difficult to ignore
Speaking about O’Neill potentially staying on, McNamara said: “I think he might. One more season. It would need to be a quick turnaround if someone was coming in now. There are a lot of things to be sorted in terms of the players and recruitment and all the rest of it.
“There’s no doubt they need players to come in.
“I think it would be down to him and how he feels about it, if he really wants to do it. I think if he does, then he’s shown between the three managers how successful he is with the group of players he’s had to work with.
“How he turned it around from before Wilfried and after Wilfried. The fact that he’s going for a double could have been a treble this season for Martin. I think he’s got the best out of the players that he’s had. And that’s what a manager is.”
McNamara is right about one thing above everything else, timing matters.
Celtic already have a lot of issues to sort quickly this summer. Recruitment, squad planning and Champions League preparation cannot drift into another drawn-out managerial search.
That is why this discussion suddenly feels more realistic than many supporters expected.
67 Hail Hail’s concern about long-term planning still remains
Earlier this week, 67 Hail Hail argued on BBC Sportsound that Celtic cannot keep revisiting yesterday forever.
That point still stands.
Celtic eventually need a modern long-term structure with a manager capable of building the club forward over several years.
But O’Neill has also guided Celtic to the title after inheriting instability, while his overall return of 26 wins from 33 matches makes this more than simple nostalgia.
If Celtic were rebuilding from a position of calm, the answer would probably feel obvious.
But they are not.
That is why McNamara’s comments land differently right now. One more season of stability may not be the backward step many originally feared.
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