MARTIN O’NEILL is poised to say an emotional farewell at Easter Road tomorrow following his eventful whirlwind interim period as Celtic manager.
The charismatic Irishman will be in charge of the team for the Premiership encounter against Hibs in the High Noon shoot-out in Edinburgh.
It will be his seventh and final game following his remarkable return following Brendan Rodgers’ dramatic and sudden departure late last month.
Twenty-five years after first arriving at Parkhead first time-around, O’Neill stepped in to guide the side to four successive domestic wins – including a Premier Sports League Cup semi-final triumph over Rangers – and a Europa League victory over Feyenoord in Rotterdam on Thursday evening.
The only stumble came against the impressive FC Midtjylland in Denmark, but the 73-year-old gaffer steadied a rocking ship within three days as they got back to winning ways with a 4-0 success over Kilmarnock.
O’Neill is ready for his final curtain call in the capital and reflected on his quickfire decision to answer the call only hours after Rodgers’ resignation.
The stand-in boss admitted: “I did take a risk, but the risk was not about my legacy. I couldn’t care less about my legacy.
“The risk was coming back and not doing well. That is the risk you always take in management.
“Would I have taken the same opportunity at some other club? I’m not sure, particularly when you have no time to prepare.
“It wasn’t as if I was coming in during pre-season and getting ready and getting to know players.
‘“I stepped in and the first time I saw all of those players together was on the Wednesday morning before the Falkirk game. That was the risk, especially as the players had lost a couple of games and the confidence wasn’t so high.
“But I don’t worry about legacy. If you want to talk about legacy, just talk about Jock Stein – the rest of us are just followers after that.
“The worry for me was about not doing well. Can I manage? I think I can manage, believe it or not.”
With Frenchman Wilfried Nancy on the brink of eventually being unveiled as the long-term replacement for Rodgers, O’Neill offered a word of caution for the Hoops support.
The veteran coach, speaking to the Daily Record, continued: “The game in Holland was terrific for the players and fans, to feel as if that they could compete there.
“Now does that mean that all ills are cured? Not at all, absolutely not.
“You only have to look at Midtjylland a couple of weeks ago. But it’s a nice sign. Can Celtic get through into the knockouts? I don’t even know that, but a win in Holland gives you a bit of a chance.
“The lads have good confidence – but confidence erodes very quickly.
“If you lose a couple of matches, which they did against Dundee then Hearts, then even good players will lack confidence. So that’s something that has been restored.”
O’Neill added: “I’m always careful about saying things that may seem to go against previous managers.
“Brendan Rodgers has done super, absolutely super, in both his spells. So it’s not that. But when you lose football matches. confidence will dip regardless of who’s managing.
“But I think they’re up and running now.
“Will Celtic become a powerhouse in Europe? I think that’s the dream for all of us again.”
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