One of the biggest positives of Celtic turning to Martin O’Neill for next season is not sentiment, nostalgia or even what he achieved last year.
It’s the fact he already knows exactly what he has.
This summer is shaping up to be one of the busiest Celtic have faced in years. Several first-team players are expected to leave, replacements will need to arrive quickly and Champions League qualifiers are looming on the horizon.
Normally, a new manager would spend weeks assessing the squad before making key decisions.
O’Neill doesn’t have that problem.
After two spells in charge last season, he already has a detailed understanding of the group, who can be relied upon and which players might still have another level to reach.
Perhaps the best example is Callum Osmand.
It was O’Neill who handed the young striker his opportunity. He trusted him at Hampden against Rangers, where he scored in the League Cup semi-final, and then watched him produce one of the defining moments of the season with the late goal against Hearts that sealed the title.
A hamstring injury interrupted his momentum, but O’Neill has already seen enough to know there is genuine potential there.
The same applies to Kelechi Iheanacho.
The striker became one of Celtic’s most important players during the run-in, scoring crucial goals and repeatedly changing games from the bench.
His contract expires this summer, but Celtic hold an option for another year.
No manager is better placed than O’Neill to decide whether that option should be activated after working so closely with him during the title charge.
Then there is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
The former England international was brought in to add experience to a squad that desperately needed it. He had limited play time, but when he played, there were flashes of the quality that made him a Premier League and Champions League winner.
Like Iheanacho, there is another year available if Celtic choose to take it.
Again, O’Neill already knows whether he sees value in keeping him around.
That familiarity could prove invaluable.
Rather than spending the first month of the summer learning about players, O’Neill can immediately focus on recruitment, knowing where the gaps are and which current squad members deserve another opportunity.
It may not be the most exciting appointment on paper.
It may not generate the same buzz as a younger, emerging coach from abroad.
But when a squad is facing significant turnover, there is something to be said for having a manager who already understands the dressing room, knows the personalities involved and has first-hand experience of what worked during Celtic’s remarkable run to the double.
