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Martin O’Neill has announced that he is determined to lead Celtic for the rest of the season despite a “difficult week” prior to the international break.
The 74-year-old has increasingly come under fire at Parkhead following his decision to continue as manager this summer. O’Neill had two successful interim spells last season, which afforded him the privilege to decide for himself whether or not to stay on board permanently.
Despite his age and the pressure of leading Celtic, O’Neill opted to keep going, signing a deal until the end of the season with an option for an additional year. However, things quickly turned sour.
Celtic dropped down to the Europa League after losing to Austrian side LASK in spectacular fashion in their Champions League playoff, and they went into this international break after three defeats in the space of a week.
A 1-0 Europa League loss to Ferencvaros was sandwiched between two Old Firm reverses against arch-rivals Rangers, which included a comprehensive 3-0 beatdown in the Scottish League Cup quarter-final.
O’Neill announces Celtic decision
O’Neill’s future dominated the headlines during the international break, with the manager admitting that he would reflect on the results and performances and then come to a decision on whether or not to resign.
A telltale sign that O’Neill would continue was the lack of news as the days ticked down. With the break now over, it is clear that the 74-year-old will remain in his post – and he confirmed as much while speaking to club media.
“I am,” O’Neill told the CelticPlayer when asked if he was ready for the rest of the season. “I am extremely prepared now for it. Yes, we had a difficult week – that can happen.
“You can lose to your arch-rivals, you can lose a European game – it’s certainly not the end of the world, or what it seemed to be described as. But now we are ready to go. Yes, 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 I set out to do, and I am just as determined now as ever before. It was a time of reflection for a moment or two, some things you think about, but I am back and raring to go, and the team is ready.”
“What you try and do is analyse the things you have done, or that you haven’t done. Throughout my managerial time, I have done exactly that. Maybe a bit different as a player, because I used to blame every other player for my performance, but as a manager you have got to.
“If you feel like something has dropped away, you have got to analyse it. Now, there wasn’t a great deal in some of the games – if we get the equaliser in the Rangers game just after half-time, it’s a totally different ball game, but it wasn’t to be.
“You have to reflect on a few things like that. I did all that, did a bit of self-analysing, and just prepared for the battle.”
Celtic, who are still top of the Premiership despite their loss to Rangers, resume their season away at Motherwell on Sunday. O’Neill believes that the players are ready to put their poor run of form – and the strong media reaction – behind them.
“They will have seen some of these things before,” O’Neill explained. “I’m not saying it’s an overreaction to what happened in the week, but it’s something they will have seen before in the past and overcome it.
“Maybe other times we have allowed it to drift. The only thing I can say is that the determination within the team is there.”
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