Gordon Strachan has been keeping an eye on Martin O’Neill’s return to Celtic, but it has not made him think about going back into management himself.
O’Neill stepped back into the dugout this season and has Celtic right in the mix on two fronts. The league is still there to be won, and a Scottish Cup final is on the horizon. For a manager at that stage, it has caught attention.
Strachan understands that level better than most. He has managed Celtic, lived through the pressure, and knows what it takes to keep a team moving over a long season.
But from where he stands now, that part of his career is finished. Watching O’Neill go again has not changed his thinking. If anything, it has reminded him how much the job demands.
He said: (talkSPORT), “The exact opposite (if O’Neill’s success has made him keen to return to management).
“You know, me and Martin are the best of mates.
“I am looking and thinking, ‘What are you doing?’ He’s still doing the bumbling fool act after games, but he knows exactly what he is up to.
“I know more about football now than I ever did. But I don’t have the anger or the drive to do it again. Martin is digging it out from somewhere.
“I have no idea where he digs it out from, this drive to keep going, but I am wishing him all the best.”
Managing at this level is not just about knowing the game. It takes energy every day, on the training ground and in matches, with pressure never far away.
Strachan says he understands football more now than when he was managing. But without that edge, it does not take you back into the dugout.
It shows the difference. One manager still pushing on. The other watching, knowing what it takes and why he has stepped away.
Keep Reading
