Many are now saying that a Scottish Premiership win for Celtic would be Martin O’Neill’s best ever.
That’s quite the statement, given what has come before. In O’Neill’s first season at Celtic back in 2000-01, they won the league (and the treble) at a canter, improving on their previous points tally by 27.
The following season, the Hoops reached the 100-point mark for the first time, securing the title just a week into April.
But Celtic fans know that the easiest wins are not always the sweetest. At no point in his five years has O’Neill had to deal with the adversity that he has this season.
And IF he can deliver the title, it wouldn’t just be his best, but one of Celtic’s ever.
History in the making?
Martin O’Neill’s Celtic history in the making
Celtic have rarely been a club for mid-season changes of manager.
But to undergo it three times by early January was unprecedented. A team which had been used to stability went from one extreme to the other.
READ MORE: Four things you may have missed from Celtic’s wild Kilmarnock celebrations
When he first arrived on an interim basis in October, O’Neill joked that he had to explain who he was to many of Celtic’s players.
Brendan Rodgers had abruptly resigned, but immediately after the 73-year-old replaced him, the team’s form took an upturn.
After he won seven of his eight games, Celtic took the ill-fated decision to throw Wilfried Nancy in at the deep end… the less said about how that went, the better.
O’Neill had taken Celtic from being eight points behind Hearts to level on points with the Tynecastle side in his first interim spell. When he arrived again to replace Nancy, they were in third place.
It has been a tale of constant chasing for the Irishman, despite his own excellent record. Add in the sheer number of late goals, and you have the current situation: a stressful, yet enthralling, season.
The run-in looks set to be dramatic. Will it be as dramatic as when ten men won the league in 1979, or when Harald Brattbakk stopped the ten in 1998, or when Albert Kidd saved the day in 1986? Who knows.
But as a story of an unlikely hero emerging in a season of chaos, it would absolutely rank highly among the most memorable seasons in the club’s history… for all its faults.
Would you make any changes to this combined Martin O’Neill Celtic XI?
Was anyone unfortunate enough to miss out?
Martin O’Neill compares current Celtic side to his original
Speaking after the Hoops’ dramatic win over Kilmarnock, O’Neill himself compared the current Celtic team to his original group of players.
He said: “Well, I think that I’ve just said in an interview there, that 20 odd years ago, I managed a really fine team, who had loads of spirit, loads of determination, all saw it to the end.
“There were many traits here about this side, they’ve shown fantastic character, really from a poor first half, from our viewpoint.
“Strong Kilmarnock, 2-0 down at halftime, and they never gave up.”
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