To be honest, nobody had expected to see Martin O'Neill back in the Celtic dugout again. He is 73 years of age and had been out of management since 2019. But when the team found itself in team, the club legend answered the call and took interim charge following Brendan Rodgers' resignation after the loss at the hands of Hearts, which had left the Hoops eight points behind in the title race.
It has been a welcome change as well and has lifted the mood around Parkhead. The final few months under the management of Rodgers were not positive ones. And it was not helped by the fact that the fans are unhappy with how things have been run by the Celtic board and want them to step down from their roles.
O'Neill came in and steadied the ship. The loss at the hands of FC Midtjylland was a low point but other than that, Celtic have won all three domestic games in which the Northern Irishman has been in charge, including a 3-1 win over the Rangers in the semi-final of the Scottish League Cup.
It would have been nice to see O'Neill lead out Celtic in another final and potentially lift one final trophy with the club. But it does look like the Hoops are closing in on the appointment of Wilfried Nancy, and the legend will not get that opportunity. Could he stay on at Parkhead in a different role though?
Celtic tipped to hand Martin O'Neill another role after new manager arrives
O'Neill has been backed to get a role on the board once the new manager is appointed. As reported by CeltsAreHere, Keith Jackson said on Hotline Live:
"People are demanding change at board level. If Martin O’Neill was to take on some sort of role up the stairs as part of the board, does that placate people? I think it would.
“I think right now there’s an absolute loving for Martin O’Neill amongst the Celtic fans, and understandably so.
“If you were clever about things, if you managed to move people around a little bit and said that Martin was part of the board, then I think right away there’d be real friction at anybody sitting inside the board if Martin O’Neill was part of that board.
“That might not be strategically the worst thing for Celtic. And I wonder if there might be conversations to that end that have to take place this week."
That could certainly be a smart move on the part of the club. Handing O'Neill a role on the board would be a popular move, at least in the beginning.
Would that result in enough of a change in how the club is run though? Most probably not. And it is long-term change that the fans are seeking.