Martin O’Neill has revealed he “would have happily stayed on” as Celtic’s interim manager for the League Cup final after stepping in when Brendan Rodgers left, but the club handed the job to Wilfried Nancy and the final ended in defeat.
The 73-year-old returned to Celtic Park and produced an impressive short spell: seven wins from 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 a perfect five-from-five record in the Scottish Premiership while briefly drawing Celtic level with Hearts (with a game in hand).
O’Neill said he had a “10 or 15 minute conversation” with Nancy after handing over the reins. Asked whether he wanted to take Celtic into the Hampden final, O’Neill said that was not his motivation but that he would have stayed if asked: “If they’d had asked me to stay, I would have done so.” He also confirmed Dermot Desmond told him the role was temporary while the club sought a younger permanent appointment, calling his spell “holding the fort for a while.” O’Neill added he would not offer unsolicited advice to his successor but would have passed on anything asked.
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 contract, Celtic have suffered three straight defeats — a 1-2 home loss to Hearts in the Premiership, a 0-3 loss to Roma in the Europa League and a 1-3 defeat to St Mirren in the League Cup final. That sequence is the worst start to any Celtic manager’s era.
Nancy, 48, described his meeting with O’Neill as brief and friendly. He has asked supporters to trust his plan while acknowledging results must improve, saying he sees positives in parts of matches but accepts the team has been inconsistent and must do better. He has moved quickly to implement his preferred tactics, switching Celtic to a back-three system immediately after taking the job.
That tactical change has been a flashpoint. Sky Sports pundit Chris Sutton argued Nancy has “overestimated the level of player at the club right now,” suggesting the new system requires tactical intelligence, flexibility and decision-making that Sutton believes the current squad lacks. Nancy defended his approach, pointing to promising spells in matches — the first half against Hearts, the second half against Roma and the first half of the League Cup final — and said he is “questioning everything” to find solutions. He added the structure he wants allows the team to go wide, play through the middle and attack the box, which he believes will maximise their chances.
Some supporters have voiced doubts after the early setbacks, but both O’Neill and Nancy have argued the manager should be given time to implement his philosophy. O’Neill said he would have stayed on only if there had been obstacles preventing Nancy from starting immediately, but accepted the board’s decision to hand the job to the new coach.
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. The coming weeks will be crucial as Nancy seeks to steady a squad and convince fans that his methods can produce consistent results.