MARTIN O’NEILL should be given at least one more season as Celtic manager.
That’s the view of former Hoops captain Jackie McNamara who believes his 74-year-old former boss has proved he still has got a lot to offer.
O’Neill, of course, has twice rallied to the flag – quite literally on Saturday – as he answered Dermot Desmond’s SOS in late October following the sudden exit of Brendan Rodgers.
After seven wins in eight games during his first interim stint, the Irishman made way for the catastrophic Wilfried Nancy who cost the champions TWELVE points in six outings while blowing a Cup Final against St Mirren and overseeing a dismal 3-0 Europa League loss at home to AS Roma.
JUST CHAMPION…Martin O’Neill and his triumphant Celtic players take a bow after their title-clinching 3-1 success over Hearts at Parkhead on Saturday.
The Frenchman was jettisoned on January 5, just a couple of days after an unacceptable 3-1 derby loss and once again O’Neill was asked to step up.
Astoundingly, against all odds, he led the Hoops to a fifth successive title following the 3-1 triumph over Hearts at Parkhead at the weekend and is on the brink of a glorious domestic double when he takes the team to Hampden on Saturday for the Scottish Cup Final against Neil Lennon’s Dunfermline.
O’Neill has stated that Celtic had given him “a reason to live” and the possibility of remaining at the club was not ruled out.
Former Scotland international defender McNamara, who captained the team to a Scottish Cup victory over Dunfermline in 2004, insists the charismatic Irishman has the qualities to continue for another year, at least.
He said: “I think it would be down to Martin and how he feels about it. It’s a question of if he really wants to do it. I think if he does, then he’s shown how successful he is with the group of players he’s had to work with.
“How he turned it around from before Wilfried and after Wilfried. The fact that he’s going for a double, it could have been a treble this season for Martin.
“I think he’s got the best out of the players that he’s had. And that’s what a manager is.
HANDS UP IF YOU’VE JUST WON THE LEAGUE…a happy Martin O’Neill acknowledges the Celtic fans after masterminding a fifth successive title.
“He’s a clever man. But he’s got the young ones around him. He’s got Shaun Maloney, Mark Fotheringham and Stephen McManus.
“The training-ground stuff, they can do all that and the coaching. I think Martin’s strength was always the dressing room before you go out.
“Also, making the wee decisions that he does and getting the best of the players. That’s what he’s done with the group there.”
Asked if he thinks O’Neill will remain in charge, McNamara, speaking to the Daily Mail, continued: “I think he might. One more season.
“It would need to be a quick turnaround if someone was coming in now.
“There are a lot of things to be sorted in terms of the players and recruitment. There’s no doubt they need players to come in.
“He’s got the experience of doing it in the Champions League. He’s got experience of getting there and qualifying.
“That’s the other thing that Martin’s had to contend with coming in, having the European games and then the domestic games and the Cup games on top of it.
“He’s managed to navigate his way through all that. Some big matches away at Stuttgart and a few other ones. He’s used to that pressure, as well.”
“He’s got a couple of young lads in there. The Tod brothers and a few others. They’ve loved it under him.
“It’s funny, everybody thinks this weekend is a formality, but Dunfermline have beaten three Premiership clubs to get where they are.
“It’s not been lucky or lucky draws on the way through. They’ve done it quite the hard way. And they deserve to be there.
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