CHRIS SUTTON welcomed the news his former boss Martin O’Neill would be Celtic’s permanent boss for at least another year.
The Irishman worked wonders last season during his two interim periods as he led the stumbling champions to a fifth successive title.
And threw in the Scottish to complete what had looked at one stage to be mission impossible in the Hoops’ quest for the double.
Now the veteran gaffer has been given the nod for a FOURTH stint as Celtic team chief and the Parkhead club can now get properly prepared and focused for what is bound to be yet another challenging campaign.
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? A pensive Martin O’Neill after the Scottish Cup Final triumph.
But Sutton warns that putting the veteran gaffer in charge is just the beginning of what must be a transformational summer with a monumental rebuild required on and off the pitch.
The former Hoops goal hero emphasises hard work lies ahead for everyone and nobody can expect the charismatic O’Neill to simply sprinkle stardust on proceedings once more.
Sutton said: “Martin O’Neill is a sensible choice. If he was happy to continue then he deserved to keep going.
“But getting the manager position sorted should not be the end of it. It should be the start.
“O’Neill needs serious backing if he is to build on his success last term.
“The whole process does leave a lot of questions.
“You have to wonder how they got here given all the talk since January was about bringing in a new manager and now they are sticking with the 74-year-old who saved the season.
“It doesn’t say much for what work has gone on over the last five or six months.
SMILES BETTER…Martin O’Neill holds aloft the Scottish Cup.
“Even the Robbie Keane aspect turned into a bit of a mess. It looked like Keane was one Dermot Desmond wanted, but there was a huge backlash.
“I’m not sure that would have bothered him one bit, to be honest, and I suspect it was always going to be down to whether O’Neill fancied staying put.
“Fair play to him. He earned the right to decide for himself if he wanted to carry on, but if Celtic had been proactive in any way, the decision might have been made months ago, anyway.
“Winning the double might have been unexpected – even for Martin – and it might have prompted a change in heart from the man himself.”
Sutton, speaking to the Daily Record, continued: “O’Neill covered a multitude of sins last term and he bought Celtic more time to sort themselves out off the pitch again.
“I would argue a lot of those things should have been well underway by now.
“A new head of football operations, a director of sport, or whatever you want to call it, should have been sourced and in place on the Monday after the season finished.
TWO OF A KIND…manager Martin O’Neill and captain Callum McGregor.
“The revamped recruitment team should have been up and running to give Celtic the best chance of avoiding the shambles of the last couple of windows.
“O’Neill managed to achieve what I thought was impossible last season, but the board can’t just assume he’ll be a miracle-worker again this time.
“He will need proper backing. There could be a huge turnover of players this summer and several key men could go.
“There simply has to be a slicker way for them to do business as these new recruits need to be in the door before the Champions League qualifier – not afterwards like last time.
“That’s the big lesson that must be learned. O’Neill has to be given the best possible chance to do his job, otherwise he’ll be fire-fighting all over again.”
The one-time England international striker added: “Recruitment is the be all and end all. Celtic need to make signings in key positions – and that is before the prospect of big name departures.
“You can see bids coming in for the likes of Daizen Maeda, Arne Engels and Alistair Johnston.
HANDS UP IF YOU’RE A WINNER…Daizen Maeda at the double.
“Those guys would not be easy to replace. Getting the manager sorted is one thing, but huge questions remain.
“And 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 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.”
At least the way is now clear for the champions to get ready for the rigours that lie ahead with the Premiership scheduled to kick off on the weekend of August 1/2.
And the Champions League play-off first leg is due on August 18 with the draw due a fortnight earlier.
Here we go again!
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