Chris Sutton has issued a direct message to the Celtic hierarchy after reports emerged that Martin O’Neill will remain as manager.
O’Neill took time to consider whether or not he’d be willing to continue in the dugout after securing a league and Scottish Cup on his return to the club last season.
He was initially brought in as interim boss after Brendan Rodgers’ departure, then returned once more after Wilfried Nancy was sacked.
The Hoops came alive during the season run-in, clawing their way back to retain the Premiership title on the final day.
It was a season that took the energy out of supporters, never mind 74-year-old O’Neill.
Understandably, after the season concluded, O’Neill admitted he would need time to weigh up his options.
Chris Sutton, who became a Celtic icon under O’Neill, has now weighed in on the news that O’Neill ill remain.
He offered a blunt observation, stating that supporters deserve to know more regarding the future of the club and the summer transfer window. He said (RecordSport):
“It would be nice to hear from someone at Celtic what the grand plan might be.
“Who is going to be leading the recruitment? Who is going to be responsible for incomings?
“There can’t be a repeat of the January nonsense with O’Neill and Shaun Maloney hammering the phones all day and watching clips sent in by agents.
“That’s no way for a modern football club to behave and you see how those January arrivals fared.
“Celtic supporters have stumped up yet again for season tickets and I am sure most will be delighted O’Neill is sticking around – even if they are concerned about how the club got here in the first place.
“They deserve to know what is going on and the direction of travel. They’d stumped up for season tickets again but it’s out of blind loyalty because no one had told them what’s going on.
“A few weeks ago it was jubilation – now it’s more like exasperation.
“Celtic fans I’ve spoken to have described the climax to the campaign as they best they’d seen. Certainly the most exciting.
“But this last week was in danger of a return to the protest days with the information vacuum leading to the hysteria over the Keane talks.
“It might calm down now but there still needs to be a message about where Celtic are heading.”
Sutton referenced major shareholder Dermot Desmond, who personally met with O’Neill and Keane for manager talks. The former striker also believes club CEO Michael Nicholson must do more to communicate better with fans.
“We all know Desmond calls the shots when it comes to the big decisions and he has been in the thick of it over these last two weeks”, Sutton added.
“But Michael Nicholson is chief executive and the one fronting up the business.
“No one has heard from him in months. Interim chairman Brian Wilson has popped up a couple of times on club media – and even said communication has to be better?
“Nicholson and the board need to back the boss and come out of the shadows.”
These are glaring issues that the club must address ahead of next season. Wilson said during last season that communication can, and will, be better.
But the recruitment process left supporters in the dark, with breaking news emerging from the mainstream media, rather than the club itself.
Attention now turns to the transfer window, and it’s one in which the hierarchy must back O’Neill financially.
The January window saw six players arrive, with only Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain playing a part in the season run-in. The other five were either injured or simply didn’t make any of the matchday squads.
All eyes will be on the summer recruitment, and it’s a rebuild that will tell a lot about where the club’s ambitions lie.
