By:
Graeme Hanna
Martin O’Neill is the early favourite to take over from Wilfried Nancy at Celtic, and the Irishman is in a strong position to set out his demands.
The club legend recently presided over seven wins out of eight games, in between the departure of Brendan Rodgers and the ill-fated reign of Nancy, who turned out to be a disaster at Parkhead.
Things went from bad to worse under the former Columbus Crew head coach, and ultimately, there were no signs of a genuine recovery.
Nancy is an ideologue with a steadfast belief in his 3-4-3 system, even though Celtic do not have the players to carry out the gameplan effectively.
In his first three games, the fans witnessed a home league defeat against Hearts, then a Europa League dismantling by Roma, and an embarrassing League Cup final loss against St. Mirren.
No way back for Nancy and the 3-4-3
The next game was a 2-1 defeat away to Dundee United, with the fans turning their anger and disgust on the Frenchman.
The pressure was on, and although some time brought two league wins against Aberdeen and Livingston, Wilfried Nancy would go on to remain in place for just two more games.
He watched his team and his tactics being schooled against Jens Berthel Askou’s Motherwell in a convincing 2-0 defeat at Fir Park, then the final straw turned out to be Saturday’s 3-1 Old Firm loss to Rangers.
Although Celtic were by far the better team in the first half and could and should have been 3-0 up by half-time, Parkhead chiefs watched on as Nancy had no answer to a tweak from Danny Rohl in the away dugout.
Rangers went on to score three goals unanswered, leaving Celtic down and out. No hope, no inspiration and no chance under Nancy’s predictable and dogmatic 3-4-3 that saw his team exposed in defence, time and time again.
Will Martin O’Neill return to Celtic?
What next for Celtic now that Wilfried Nancy has been sacked? That is the big question.
Martin O’Neill is the immediate frontrunner, but it remains to be seen if he is interested in a third spell in charge, and especially as a stopgap.
The three-time Scottish title winner as a manager is on record that he would ‘happily have stayed on’ at Celtic, but he was not asked to, with Nancy deemed to be the better option for the rest of the season and beyond, but now club executives are back to square one.
They will likely return to O’Neill to sound him out, but will he want to be another temporary solution, as the club prepares for another permanent manager? That seems unlikely, but his former player Chris Sutton has urged Celtic to land O’Neill.
What it means is that Martin O’Neill is in a position to demand guarantees from Celtic. That could be a 12/18 month contract, or it could be a certain amount to be spent on new players this month or in the summer.
How long until Celtic make a decision on their new manager?
At 73, Martin O’Neill is not a realistic option for the long-term, but he could be what Celtic needs, now, as they attempt to salvage their season.
Another option could be Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham, who were the coaches, trusted lieutenants, under the Kilrea-native.
Celtic don’t play again until the Scottish Premiership meeting against Dundee United on Saturday.
There is a small window of time for arrangements to be made for that game, now that Wilfried Nancy has been sacked.
Martin O’Neill will be spoken to, but his next decision and the call from Celtic, will be a highly anticipated one.
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