MARTIN O’NEILL has opened up to former Celtic goal hero Chris Sutton about this double comeback to the champions during a turbulent season.
The 73-year-old former Hoops boss received his first SOS from Dermot Desmond, the club’s majority shareholder, shortly after the dramatic departure of Brendan Rodgers in late October following back-to-back league defeats from Dundee and Hearts.
O’Neill steadied the ship with seven wins in eight games while in interim charge before making way for Wilfried Nancy and his entourage from MLS outfit Columbus Crew on December 3.
The chaotic Frenchman lasted a mere 33 days in control before being sacked after six defeats in eight outings during a catastrophic and mercifully brief stay in Glasgow.
SEE YOU SOON…Martin O’Neill waves farewell after his first stint on December 3. The Irishman returned just over a month later.
Following the derby defeat on January 3, the call went out again for the charismatic Irishman and he has now been handed the reins for the remainder of the campaign.
O’Neill, speaking in an exclusive interview of Sky Sports, told his one-time striker: “The first time that I went back, it happened so quickly.
“Brendan had resigned, I get a call the same afternoon to ask if I would come up and hold the fort.
“Naturally, I was worried about it. The reason I was worried about coming back the first time round was that if you don’t win, you’re just considered old, you’re just too old.
“It wasn’t about whether you were going to ruin anything you did a load of years ago, but at the end of it all, it was just that you would be considered just too old and you’re not in the new game.
“And then [for the second spell]I get a call, asking to come in now to the end of the season.
“My worry then was, yes, it’s a wee bit longer this time, we’ve ground to catch up again and I suppose I had the same fears and worries about it, whether we can do it, because games start to run down.”
O’Neill kicked off his second stint with a convincing 4-0 win over Dundee United on January 10.
Premiership victories over Falkirk (1-0 and 2-0) and a 2-2 draw with Hearts at Tynecastle followed as the Hoops attempted to get their quest for a fifth successive title back on track.
There was also 2-2 draw with Bologna in Italy and a 4-2 triumph over FC Utrecht in the Europa League plus a 2-0 success over Auchinleck Talbot in the Scottish Cup.
After last night’s postponement of the league encounter against Aberdeen at Pittodrie, O’Neill and his players are preparing for the visit of Dundee in the competition in Saturday’s 5.30pm kick-off.
WANT TO KNOW A SECRET? Celtic Confidential is the stunning new book that brings the exclusive inside stories behind the headlines. Alex Gordon’s sixteenth Celtic book is available NOW. Order a copy and get £5 OFF the cover price of £25. All is revealed in a sensational new publication. Just click SHOP HERE and your book will be on its way. Happy reading!
