Martin O’Neill has admitted that his second interim Celtic spell has been ‘far more difficult’, while highlighting a Dermot Desmond reply which left him shocked.
He answered the call after Brendan Rodgers’ resignation, taking charge on an interim basis and quickly restoring order. Five straight league wins followed, Rangers were beaten to book a League Cup final place, and there was a notable European night with victory over Feyenoord in Rotterdam.
O’Neill then stepped aside when Wilfried Nancy was appointed.
That decision quickly unravelled. Nancy’s disastrous 33-day spell forced Celtic back to the same man who had already stabilised the club once this season.
O’Neill returned in early January with the campaign drifting and pressure building around the title race.
Speaking to TalkSport, the Irishman admitted the second spell has been far more demanding than the first, while revealing a Dermot Desmond reply which left him shocked during a brief discussion:
“Absolutely [the second spell has been more difficult]. You knew that when you went in there, first of all, you were in for a short period of time.
“As I said to Dermot Desmond, the major shareholder, he said you could be there for two weeks or two months.
“As it turned out, it was like, what, 36 or no more than 40 days. And you knew that was coming to an end at some stage or another.
“Then, when you step in, in the first week of January, I had not a thought in my head about a January transfer window, or deadlines.
“When i was speaking to Deremot Desmond the second time, I said, ‘I might not last that length of time in terms of results.’”
What came next caught him off guard.
“You know what he said? I thought he’d be very accommodating. He said, ‘I know.’”
It was a blunt exchange, but O’Neill has delivered the results since returning.
Celtic have played 16 matches since O’Neill’s January comeback and lost just twice. One came against Stuttgart in Europe, the other against Hibs (the only league loss across both of O’Neill’s interim spells this season).
That run has dragged Celtic back into a position where the title race is still alive, and the Scottish Cup remains within reach.
Supporters will inevitably look back at the brief Nancy appointment and wonder where the team might be if O’Neill had simply continued from the first spell.
Still, the reality is that Celtic needed someone capable of walking into chaos and calming it quickly.
Few figures in the club’s modern history command that kind of authority.
O’Neill has done it twice this season.
With the title run-in looming and a Scottish Cup semi-final on the horizon, the responsibility now shifts back onto the players. The platform has been rebuilt. Now they have to finish the job.
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