You and I spoke a week ago about the next managerial appointment. Martin O’ Neill explained to us at the end of the season that he needed time to consider if he wanted the job next season. We discussed that Celtic were conducting interviews with other candidates (plural) in case he declined.
But! If course he wanted the job. Those who blindly bought into other narratives over the last week need to take a look at yourselves. Honestly! Some poor lads were traumatised by you.
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Lovely evening in the North West.
MON is a legend, and universally loved by Celtic fans. I’m personally happy with his appointment, but it is absolutely a step backwards.
The headline and article make for strange reading. It implies that MON was the club’s first choice, then suggests that there were multiple candidates interviewed as “back ups”, and accuses some amongst us of creating hysteria which left others deeply troubled. Whit?
it was widely reported that Keane was interviewed, but absent any evidence to support that, who knows. The bookies had a list of favorites, but we’ve no idea if they were even contacted let alone interviewed. Then there could be those who were below the radar, and maybe did get a call. Let’s just say this; if there were any interviews then they were not done in person, and without a DoF it is not very clear who would have been assigned the task of the leading the process. We could take some guesses, but that story writes itself.
Regardless, we now have MON appointed for next season. I’m happy with that simply because we know what we are getting with him, and I cannot imagine how we would possibly trust the board to run an actual process after their failures in this last season.
There are so many things wrong with this picture. Again, we are incredibly fortunate that MON answered the club’s call (twice) last season, and we should arguably be grateful that DD was able to lure him to Celtic Park in our moment(s) of need, and he did an incredible job salvaging the season. Perhaps it is fair to say that this in itself earned MON the right to “first dibs” on the job, almost as a “thank you”, and if that is the case, then all is well and good. However, you would have to ask yourself if the club had not suffered the self-inflicted trauma of managerial chaos, in the ordinary course of business would MON have been anywhere near a shortlist of potential managers? Not a chance!
Further, MON himself continually suggested that he expected the club would be looking for a younger replacement. Yes, this may have been him cleverly deflecting questions about his own future, but there was never a hint of permanence or even expectation on his part. Hence the club, if we are to believe what we are being told, did indeed go through a process to find a new manager, and even conducted interviews, supposedly. We all had a list of names that for various reasons included our own personal favorites, not just those of the bookies. There might have been others that were never mentioned, but am I supposed to believe that none of those we approached represented a better option than a 1-year deal for MON? This first causes me to question the caliber of names on the list, and secondly, it makes me fairly certain that the board are at a point where they don’t even trust themselves to make an appointment at this moment in time. That perhaps reflects just how broken the club is at the moment, with a squad needing massive overhaul, with a DoF and scouting system that is apparently entirely missing, and a relationship with the support that caused them to worry about bringing in the wrong guy. Easy fix; let’s just ask MON to stick around!
Well, it is a backwards step, but it might be better than the board attempting to take a leap forward in the wrong direction, so I’ll happily take it in the hope that it buys some time to fix the structural issues and develop a proper long term strategy. Sevco may not be pushing forward as hard as they otherwise might have, as their new owners are probably still counting the cost of this season’s failures, which will almost inevitably lead to yet another financial loss. Privately they may also be uncertain if Rohl is the right guy, nonetheless, they are clearly not going to be standing still. Hearts will be bitterly disappointed to have failed, but encouraged by their quick progress and second place finish. Similarly, their latest investor will feel bullish, and expect that they can push on again, just as his other clubs have been able to do. Celtic on the other hand, now have a short term solution with a 1-year deal in place for the oldest manager active in top flight club football. With all due respect, I do not believe that MON is equipped to take the club forward, and he truly represents nothing more than a safe pair of hands as we retool. Very simply, a year of stability might also be important for us just so that next year we can attract the right manager. Right now, we may have limited options as some will understandably feel like we are a risk to their reputations.
Our domestic rivals are pushing forward with their respective strategies shaped by investors who are engaged and motivated. It is not yet clear if they will get it right, but they are actively pursuing their respective strategies. On the European front, much smaller clubs than Celtic are always emerging as contenders and testing the paradigm of traditional limitations, with some establishing their credentials as serial knockout stage participants. We are essentially going into a holding pattern trying to find direction, while the board is reconstituted and the whole football operations organization is rebuilt. Ergo, MON’s appointment is a step backwards. As they say, “Sometimes you have to take a step back to move forward”.
The Board cannot get any lower,can they?..Selling Daizen pin badges,with the title,Including the words” O– F—-“.£8 a pop.
Roll up,roll up.Money grabbing scumbags,who dont give a fek for the support,or what they think.
Good morning all from sunny Glasgow 🌞.
Slow blog. I’m on holiday right now and need reading material so get posting!
GEDINTE
I mentioned the other day that there is ‘the right appointment’ and ‘the right appointment in the circumstances.’ The right appointment would have been the result of 6 months planning, research, setting up a DoF to plan recruitment, payer acquisition and interviewing extensively for a first team manager to take that forward. Since there is little evidence that the club did any of that, the ‘right appointment in the circumstances’ is probably a 74 year old safe pair of hands.
I don’t worry too much about the appointment (although we now have a big recruitment job ahead, and January under the same guys was anything but auspicious), but I do worry about the circumstances that brought this appointment about.
As I wrote previously, given everything he did for the club over the past season (including a remarkable ‘Win’ record), it was entirely in order for the club to ask MON of he wanted to stay on. That’s a professional courtesy.
Practically, the entire organisation is in a shambolic state and in need of a complete rebuild, top to bottom. In the context, MON represents continuity in a period of upheaval.
It’s a valid thing to do, provided that the club does indeed reset itself. It would be a failing of inexcusable scope were we to find ourselves 12 months from now having the same conversations about the lack of leadership, the failed executive function, inept recruitment and vacancies at every level from Board to backroom.
Let’s back MON to the hilt and pray that the time he has bought us is used fruitfully.
Martin O’Neill, Martin O’Neill
🎶 Just another magic MONday 🎶
🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮🇨🇮 CSC
so what is the plan going fwd ?
is mon here for 1 year only ?
will he be identifying/buying players for the short/medium/long term ?
will he be identifying/buying players for the short/medium/long term for himself or the next manager ?
will he be offered the same loan options as xmas ?
Good morning CQN
Another fine day to be a Celt
Gedinte / Bhoys Town / TBB
Good chat.
Gedinte makes a really pertinent point
Corporate decision making confidence at Celtic is shot to pieces.
Caught in a dead space between
Very little connection with the majority
Public antics of the tiny mob
Unclear where they stand with the overlord
… Martin’s confirmation buys time.
12 months will go in fast.
Layers of appointment decisions to make
Good people to come on board in waves
Some incumbents will leave
Overhaul of communications. Not one & done
Bed in the culture, structure and identity … all while a football club runs in the background
Still a tough gig
Gedinte @ 11.58 yesterday
Excellent post!
Inamura Outamorra
Kerching CSC
BSR 😂
SPIKEYSAULDMAN Questions at the heart
so what is the plan going fwd ?
“The Owner” doesn’t do communication with the fanbase, neither does his puppet executives, if they have a plan? the plan is not to inform us ?
We will have to rely on MO’N and his pressers to reveal how the new season squad is shaping up, I suspect huge turnover in personnel, which is a concern due to no recruitment personnel
is mon here for 1 year only ?
Mon apparently has a one year contract plus an option of a further year
will he be identifying/buying players for the short/medium/long term ?
It will be certain that MO’N and the gang will be actively identifying/sourcing players to recommend to the club for a defence of the SPFL title and a very important tough C/L Qualifier in August im sure MO’N and the gang are already on the case
ALL finalising of player acquisition/Loan deals the nitty gritty with the selling clubs will be done by the CEO (Celtic Lawyer) and the CFO (financials), lets hope these two considerably up their game as recent performance in players acquired has been woeful, MO’N and the fanbase deserve far better performance levels
will he be identifying/buying players for the short/medium/long term for himself or the next manager ?
As we are low hanging fruit in the football food chain, a selling club, long term planning is difficult to say the least, as I have said earlier I suspect a large turnover of players, IMO MO’N and his gang will be only thinking of this season
will he be offered the same loan options as xmas ?
Good loans not to be dismissed, as long as MO’N has final say on the loans
OUTS>
Scheichael Retired
Alistair Johnston if he has a good WC could be looking to new horizons
Daizen Maeda we know is definitely wanting to move
Reo Hatate No surprise Reo is looking to go, he looked dejected at the finish
Shin Yamada cast out in the wilderness im sure will conclude our Japanese contingent leaving
Arne Engels has new sports agency looking for a club on his behalf
Paulo Bernardo another in the wilderness who will surely be looking to revive his career
Michel-ange-Balikwisha I think we will have to take a big hit here, a loan deal with being easy to trade is best
option
Stephen Welsh released
Luis Palma sold
Inamura Sold
Last seasons loan deals returns ?
Iheanacho
The Ox
Sarrachi
IMO Mostly selling in the first instance hopefully giving MON a healthy budget to secure as many of his 1st choice targets in August
Arne Engels New Agent signals his intention to leave
For those interested in Sentinel Celts World Cup score predictor, being run by CHALMERSBHOY, details on how to join/just giving page etc are on todays blog by MAHE. Code for the league on Superbru is DEFTMAPS. and appointed Charity is ‘Children’s Hospices Across Scotland’ (CHAS), a worthy cause I’m sure you will agree.
There is a sweepstake this afternoon for all who sign up by 3pm.
Turkeybhoy on 8th June 2026 12:30 am
The Board cannot get any lower,can they?..Selling Daizen pin badges,with the title,Including the words” O– F—-“.£8 a pop.
Roll up,roll up.Money grabbing scumbags,who dont give a fek for the support,or what they think.
===
You do realise that Video Celts is a click bait site that depends on anti Board feeling for personal profit?
If the author can find an angle to hook the anti Board readers he will use it.
If he cannot find an angle he will make one up.
Video Celts is not the only click bait site and the excuse they do what they do for love of Celtic suggests their definition of love is a self serving one.
Celtic Mac on 8th June 2026 11:10 am
If only I could sign in to join.
Since the news broke that MON was returning for next season, there have been questions as to why there was no official announcement from the Club. I assumed that they were obliged to announce this via the stock exchange firstly, so this morning would have been the first opportunity to do so. So far there has been nothing what are they waiting for now? Any ideas, why there has been no official announcement either from the Club directly or via the stock exchange?
McPhail Bhoy on 8th June 2026 11:43 am
I would imagine it would require the mite to open his mouth, perhaps he’s delegating it to the chairman!
Mute
I’d imagine AJ might want a shot at the big time before his career ends.
He’s 27 now.
Celtic hold the aces though.
He’s contracted to 2029.
Don’t know how others on here are positioning themselves for departures or absences of first team regulars in particular?
In my head …
Arne, Reo and Daizen are gone.
Jota won’t be ready until autumn and won’t be effective until 2027
He has not been appointed until there is an official announcement, the source was the SMSM, no announcement from Celtic plc no appointement, and nothing issued by the Stock Exchange.
No news in Izvestia…..
Dessybhoy
There’s no denial either – I’d have thought if it wasn’t going to happen then the club would have said something. Communication is not the club’s strong suit.
I see we’re still 3rd in the table
new article posted.