Next Celtic manager contender 'expects' Dermot Desmond conversation as one hurdle to turn key
The club’s major shareholder has a huge call to make once the season is over
Celtic boss Martin O’Neill isn’t looking for a long-term Hoops contract - but would at least ‘expect’ to be considered for the role if he lands the double.
Major shareholder Dermot Desmond will be part of the powerbrokers group with a big decision on their hands in the summer, whether to stick or twist with the veteran boss, who has the chance double his trophy tally for the season in this weekend’s Scottish Cup final. He has already secured the league title and Celtic will face Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline Athletic at Hampden for another shot at glory.
Much has now been made of the future of O’Neill, who at 74, isn’t looking for a long-term extension, but would like to be in the picture for extending his stay beyond this season in some capacity. Speaking ahead of the all-or-nothing cup final, the Celtic boss outlined his plans to talk to Desmond in the coming weeks.
O’Neill ‘would expect’ Desmond talks
He said: “I would expect Dermot to talk to me. I wouldn’t expect him to say, ‘Look, there’s a five-year deal’. If he does, that takes me up to 93! It’s whether I’d be up for the challenge again, really. Our club have to really look at it and see that the challenges are coming, which is great. It’s great that Hearts are coming with a charge and Rangers will get stronger.
“It’s a call for us to have a look at the situation. But, again, that takes a bit of time. I have not had any word and I don’t expect to have that, this week anyway. But whatever you do, you don’t get much time when the season starts. The squad is back on June 26 and we will have a plethora of players coming back. I’m not talking about the World Cup boys, I’m talking about players I’ve never seen.
“That takes a bit of doing and it’s whether you’d have the real energy to do that. Could I do it? I genuinely don’t know, honestly. I was asked whether I had earned the right to the job the other day and my answer was, ‘Of course I don’t’, which was absolutely true.”
O’Neill doubles down on pitch invasion fallout
Celtic fans entered the field of play just seconds after Callum Osmand sealed the title with the third goal of the 3-1 win. Since then, the SFA have confirmed that the game was finished and not abandoned, as some had claimed due to their still being time left on the clock after the goal. O’Neill said after the match that he thought the invasion only highlighted the ‘emotion’ of the win. Now that the dust has settled his opinion hasn’t changed.
He continued: “Do you know how long it took to clear the pitch? Two minutes and 50 seconds. What has happened is that people have taken the emotion out of the game. I didn’t know what Hearts’ argument was at the end of the day. Because the pitch invasion had taken place? Had the game finished or not? Were we going to go back and play the last 15 seconds if that was the case?
“If pitch invasions are going to be universally blocked, fine. If it’s a criminal offence to go onto the pitch, that’s something else. I’m not sure, in the euphoria, if there’s going to be a universal ban on people coming onto the pitch, that something would be lost from the game.”
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