Martin O’Neill has stressed his determination to get Celtic back to winning ways after revealing he would be staying on as manager.
The 74-year-old admitted before the international break that he would reflect on his future and talk to the board after suffering three consecutive defeats inside a week.
But O’Neill has now declared himself up for the challenge after two Old Firm losses against Rangers were sandwiched by a Europa League setback against Ferencvaros.
When asked how ready and determined he was to lead the team forward, O’Neill told the club’s website: ‘I am. I’m extremely prepared for it.
‘We had a difficult week. It can happen, you can lose to your arch-rivals, you can lose a European game. It’s certainly not the end of the world, as it seemed to be described. But (I’m) ready to go.
‘I did think I would take a little bit of time and it didn’t take me that much time to think about it. I want to lead the club, I want to try and win the league, which is what we set out to do, and I’m just as determined now as ever before.
Martin O’Neill took time to reflect upon three consecutive losses before the international break
‘It was a time of reflection for a moment or two and, yes, some things that you think about. But, overall, I’m back, I’m raring to go and the team’s ready.’
O’Neill, whose side face Motherwell at Fir Park on Sunday, added: ‘What you try and do is analyse the things that you’ve done or perhaps the things that you haven’t done.
‘Throughout my managerial time, I’ve been exactly that. I think I look to myself, first of all. Maybe a wee bit different as a player, because I think I used to blame every other player for my own bad performance.
‘But, as a manager, you’ve got to look at yourself. And if you feel as if something has dropped away, of course you have to analyse it.
‘Now, there wasn’t a great deal in some of the games. If we get the equaliser just after half-time in the Rangers game, totally different ball game, totally different. But it wasn’t to be. So you have to reflect on a few things like that.
‘But overall, did the reflection, did all of that and a bit of self-analysing and just prepared for the battle.’
O’Neill also revealed that Jota had played 45 minutes of a training-ground friendly against Falkirk on Friday, as the Portuguese winger steps up his comeback attempts following 18 months out with a knee injury.
The Celtic manager has also been encouraged by Alistair Johnston and Callum Osmand getting back on the training pitch following hamstring injuries and said he would assess the fitness of Yang Hyun-jun on Friday after the South Korea winger experienced hamstring trouble on international duty.
O’Neill lost out to Rangers counterpart Derek McInnes but is eager to get back to winning ways
Meanwhile, the Celtic Trust is attempting to force the club board to apologise for allowing Ross Desmond to launch an ‘egregiously insulting and offensive tirade’ against supporters.
The supporters’ group have called for Celtic chairman Brian Wilson to make a ‘full and unreserved apology to shareholders and supporters’ for giving Desmond the chance to hit out at critics on behalf of his father, major shareholder Dermot Desmond, at last year’s AGM.
Ross Desmond hit out at ‘destructive and cynical’ criticism of Celtic executives and accused some fans of being ‘bullies’, before then-chairman Peter Lawwell abandoned the meeting amid shouts from the floor.
The Celtic Trust statement said: ‘This was a complete abuse of the AGM process, should never have been allowed to happen, and should never be allowed to happen again.
‘In a period of lows, this was amongst the lowest the Celtic PLC board have ever stooped and each and every one of them should be ashamed of themselves. We call on them to apologise so that we can put this shameful event behind us and move on.’
