MARTIN O’NEILL is backing incoming manager Wilfried Nancy to rise above the turmoil that is currently engulfing Celtic.
The charismatic Irishman is preparing his squad for the Europa League clash against Feyenoord in Rotterdam tomorrow night.
And O’Neill is likely to be in charge when the champions face the tricky Premiership trip to Easter Road on Sunday to take on Hibs who will be looking for a reaction after last night’s 2-0 loss at Motherwell.
The Edinburgh encounter could be the 73-year-old gaffer’s seventh and final game in the dug-out in his interim role after answering the call to step in when Brendan Rodgers departed just over a month ago.
WATCHING BRIEF…Wilfried Nancy keeps as eye on his Columbus Crew players.
O’Neill is ready to welcome Nancy, expected to quit as Columbus Crew head coach before the end of the week, and is convinced the Frenchman is equipped to handle the pressure.
Acknowledging the heavy atmosphere surrounding the club, he said: “I think that the new manager coming in should divorce himself from all those proceedings.
“This is a fresh start for him. He hasn’t been party to anything that’s happened in recent times.
“So, just let’s say it was me and I’d never manage the football club again, I’d be saying: ‘Yeah, that’s got nothing to do with me.
“‘I have to try and win some football games and then maybe at some stage or another, if we can get a real team together that can go and compete, not just domestically, but obviously in European football’.
“Well, that would be his job. Absolutely, but he’s got a fresh start. He’s going in to step into something that really has been none of his concern.
“And that’s the way I would be approaching it. And it’s not like passing the buck. It’s just saying: ‘Well, sorry, that’s not my making. My making now is to put Celtic back in the game’.”
IN THE OLD ROUTINE…Martin O’Neill watches on the touchline as Stephen Robinson shouts out instructions to his St Mirren players in Celtic’s 1-0 win at the weekend.
Asked if the conflict off the pitch could eventually have an impact on it, O’Neill, speaking to the Daily Record, answered: “No, not really. I don’t see that at this minute.
“But if this was a continuation for a long, long time or something like this, it might be a different issue. I haven’t noticed it at all.
“I actually think you make a really decent point about that. I’m hoping, and since I’m only here for the short period of time, it’s just about ignoring anything that’d be happening elsewhere.
“Hopefully, if we score a goal, there’ll be a crowd cheering for that. That’s the case.”
With his usual display of true grit, O’Neill added: “The sooner that this unity comes back to Celtic, the better.”
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