Martin O’Neill says he “would have happily stayed on” as Celtic’s interim manager for their League Cup final after stepping in following Brendan Rodgers’ resignation, but the match ended in defeat under new boss Wilfried Nancy.
The 73-year-old returned to Celtic Park and won seven of his eight matches in charge. That run included a League Cup semi-final win over Rangers, a 3-1 victory away to Feyenoord in the Europa League and five wins from five in the Scottish Premiership, which briefly drew Celtic level with Hearts with a game in hand.
O’Neill revealed he had a “10 or 15 minute conversation” with Nancy after handing over the reins. When asked if he wanted to take Celtic into the League Cup final at Hampden, O’Neill said that “wasn’t a driving force” for him. “If they’d had asked me to stay, I would have done so,” he told TalkSport. “But the minute that they said no, ‘listen, that’s your time’, that is fine by me.”
He added that Dermot Desmond had told him the role was temporary while the club searched for a permanent appointment and that the board were looking for someone younger. “My job was like holding the fort for a while,” O’Neill said. “But when you get into it, you really enjoy it. You enjoy winning the games.” He also said he would have passed on anything the incoming manager wanted to hear but was not going to give unsolicited advice.
O’Neill’s results as Celtic interim manager:
– Celtic 4-0 Falkirk – Scottish Premiership
– Celtic 3-1 Rangers – League Cup
– Midtjylland 3-1 Celtic – Europa League
– Celtic 4-0 Kilmarnock – Scottish Premiership
– St Mirren 0-1 Celtic – Scottish Premiership
– Feyenoord 1-3 Celtic – Europa League
– Hibernian 1-2 Celtic – Scottish Premiership
– Celtic 1-0 Dundee – Scottish Premiership
Since Nancy took over on a two-and-a-half-year deal, Celtic have lost in all three competitions they are competing in: a 1-2 home loss to Hearts in the Premiership, a 0-3 defeat to Roma in the Europa League and a 1-3 loss to St Mirren in the League Cup final. That sequence — three successive defeats — is the worst start to any Celtic manager’s era.
Nancy, 48, met O’Neill after taking the job and described the conversation as brief and friendly. He has asked supporters to trust his plan while acknowledging results must improve. After the Hampden defeat he said: “I tell them that I want to do better for sure. But I am asking them, not to be patient but to trust what I am going to say regarding I can see what we are trying to do. My point is, I can see something good but this is not enough. We are not able to be consistent… I can ask the fans to believe in me and to trust I can do things, but that is not my job. I have to act instead of talking.”
Nancy immediately switched Celtic to his favoured back-three system. Sky Sports pundit Chris Sutton believes that tactical change is part of the problem, arguing Nancy has “overestimated the level of player at the club right now.” Sutton said the style requires tactical intelligence, flexibility and good decision-making — attributes he feels are lacking in the current squad.
Nancy defended his players’ performances, saying there were promising periods in matches — the first half against Hearts, the second half against Roma and the first half of the League Cup final — and that he is “questioning everything” to find solutions. “I didn’t see it like that. The structure we had was really interesting. We were able to go wide, go through the middle and we were able to attack the box,” he added. “To me this is taking care of the ball and this is the only way to maximise our chance to do better.”
Some fans have already questioned Nancy’s appointment as Rodgers’ permanent successor after the early setbacks, but O’Neill and Nancy both argue the new manager should be given time to implement his philosophy. O’Neill said he would have stayed on if issues such as visas or other obstacles had prevented Nancy from starting immediately, but accepted the club’s decision to hand over the job.
Celtic’s recent run under Nancy:
– Celtic 1-2 Hearts – Scottish Premiership
– Celtic 0-3 Roma – Europa League
– St Mirren 3-1 Celtic – League Cup final
Upcoming fixtures for Celtic include away to Dundee United (live on Sky Sports), home to Aberdeen, away to Livingston, away to Motherwell and the Old Firm clash at home to Rangers on January 3.