Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has admitted that he wasn't convinced by Celtic's recruitment in an interview with Sky Sports.
O'Neill returned to Celtic earlier this season after Brendan Rodgers resignation, steadying the ship and solving the short-term problem at the Hoops. He was replaced by Wilfried Nancy, who was sacked after just 33 days in charge due to his shocking record of six losses in eight games. O'Neill returned to the Hoops and will stay until the end of the season, with fans excited at what success the Celtic legend could bring.
Speaking with Sky Sports, O'Neill said about recruitment:
"I think, if you're asking me honestly, I wasn't totally convinced about the recruitment for Celtic Football Club. It is still a big club. And the ambition of the football club is to play big European matches, to be involved in big European games."
O'Neill also praised the board for rejecting the £25 million bid from Nottingham Forest for Arne Engels on transfer deadline day, saying:
"We've actually turned down big, big money [for Engels] . I know it was very, very late in the transfer market. And, getting ideal replacements in was going to be difficult, but that might show you a sign that at least we've held onto our players. Did I go into the board and say, "you've got to stop this one?" No, I didn't. They stopped it themselves. They've got to get some credit for that."
When asked if he still thinks that Hearts are the favourites to win the title, O'Neill said:
"At this point in the season? Absolutely. Let me put it this way: I'd like to be six points clear."
He also touched on the fan's relationship with the board:
"The major shareholder of the football club is the person who has brought me three times to the club, so I'm in debt. I would have not had the chance to manage Celtic Football Club had Dermot Desmond not taken me here away back in the year 2000. To me, that was wildly important. Away back in the year 2000, he had many much bigger names he could have chosen. So I'm indebted. I'm hoping that there will be a reconciliation [with the board and the fans]. For the club to go forward, in time, it will have to reach that. I'm not a United Nations peacekeeper here. My job is to win football matches, but I'm hoping that in time, two sides, three sides, four sides, whatever it is, can get together and have some reconciliation."
Unsalvageable fan relationship and "in debt" O'Neill
Supporters are torn about O'Neill admitted he feels "indebted" to the Celtic board, especially Dermot Desmond. While yes, he has brought him to the club, it was O'Neill and O'Neill alone who managed the Hoops to so much success. A majority shareholder doesn't motivate the players; it's the manager.
The relationship between the supporters, Desmond and the rest of the board is, what I would describe at this point as, unsalvageable. The Celtic hierarchy is unfit for purpose, and no one will be happy until they are removed from their position.
The board seem more passionate about taking sly digs at the fans than the success of the football club. It is treated like a business where the consumers don't matter, but that is far from the case.
And things don't seem to be getting better. Earlier this week, the Celtic Fans Collective announced its decision to boycott Saturday's cup game against Dundee. They stated that more protest action would follow unless their three demands were met: Remove Michael Nicholson as CEO, reinstate the Green Brigade ultras group, and lift restrictions unjustly put on all fan media organisations.
The board are yet to respond and continues to ignore concerned fans. This isn't the way forward, and as O'Neill said, the only way for this to be solved is for an open and honest conversation to happen. So far, that seems unlikely.
Celtic recruitment on the up
Celtic's recruitment has been criticised for a long time, and it was really concerning how bad it seemed to be. Former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers often refused to accept targets from Paul Tisdale, labelling them as "club signings". O'Neill doesn't seem fond of them either.
Although the previous recruitment team were responsible for the loan of Julian Aurajo, since they left, Celtic have brought in Tomas Cvancara, Junior Adamu, Joel Mvuka, and Benjamin Arthur. All appear to be good signings that will strengthen the team, and a lot of supporters just couldn't see us bringing any of those in was it not for the change made after Nancy's departure.
Of course, it'll be necessary for us to see how a summer transfer looks before making a final conclusion, but there are certainly positives for the next manager to take.