Celtic return tinged with sadness for Martin O'Neill as he lifts lid on his John Robertson regret

People might wonder what has changed in the period since O’Neill last accepted an invitation to save Celtic’s season. Not a lot of course. How could it? It was only the end of October when Celtic Park re-embraced the Northern Irishman before a 4-0 win over Falkirk.

But then something very significant has of course changed. It might even have influenced his decision to return once again to Celtic and risk damaging a legacy Robertson was instrumental in helping him build as his assistant between 2000 and 2005. Fear of failure haunts O'Neill but should he not just seize the day? It seems he has.

The death of Robertson had to be addressed while he settles back in the Celtic hotseat. The former winger’s funeral, when it is held, is likely to be a major event. O’Neill may even be asked to speak at it, as he did so adeptly at Brian Clough’s funeral in 2004 during his first stint as Celtic manager.

What would Robertson have to say about O’Neill returning to Celtic Park for not just a second time, but a third time?

“He would have found that laughable,” said his old pal, the grass from his latest ‘first’ training session still clinging to his Copa Mundial boots. “He would have said: ‘you’re not wise, Martin…’”

‘I didn’t get to see him’

The pain for O’Neill, on top of the loss of such a dear friend, is that they hadn’t seen each other recently. The anxiety he says continues to dog him as he steps back into the dugout has been compounded by this sense of regret.

“The disappointment with myself is that I didn't see John in recent times,” he said. “I didn't see him. Obviously, he would have known that I was up here. But the week that I wanted to go up and see him, my granddaughter was not well. She was in and out of hospital for two or three days, and I thought, 'Listen, I'll get there. I'll get up and see John...'.

"And I didn't get to see him. And then I got the call on Christmas Day that he had died and I'm really disappointed with myself, you know, that I didn't see him in the latter stages. There might have been part of me thinking that maybe I didn't want to see somebody as frail as he was and maybe that's your last thought of him, rather than the person I've known all these years. So, I don't know. I’m a bit confused in that sense...”

The former winger being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease made things more difficult, as did a heart attack in 2013. As O’Neill recounts in his autobiography, Robertson declined the opportunity to join him as his assistant at Sunderland in 2011.

They had fought battles and tasted success everywhere they’d been, including Celtic, but the last few months at Aston Villa, their previous club, had taken its toll. O’Neill was battling with the club’s owner, Randy Lerner, over transfer funds. “His love for the game has diminished,” writes O’Neill of his former teammate in On Days Like These, his autobiography published in 2022. He had been by his side for so much of the time since their days together at Nottingham Forest, when Robertson was the inspiration behind back-to-back European Cup wins.

The Peter Taylor to O’Neill’s Clough...

Shaun Maloney is his slightly cleaner-living lieutenant now. The pair are preparing to make their second debut as the Celtic managerial pairing this weekend against Dundee United. But thoughts drift to Robertson, with whom O’Neill arrived at Celtic Park as a fresh-faced 47-year-old first time around. Although slightly younger than O’Neill, Robertson was not so fresh-faced. However, he was the bridge between the players and manager and was loved by everyone. He was the Peter Taylor to O’Neill’s Clough. A minute’s applause was held for Robertson as recently as last Saturday’s Old Firm game.

When was the last time they spoke? “It would have been some months ago,” recalled O’Neill. Robertson’s voice was failing due to illness. “John would get embarrassed, the fact that he wasn't able to speak to you properly. Maybe he didn't want you to come up and see him in that shape. But he was, honestly, a special boy. A special player, of whom I was obviously very jealous because he got all the accolades, quite rightly so!”

It was probably for the best that Robertson didn’t join O’Neill for an ill-fated spell back at Forest in 2019. He was spared being sacked after just 19 games. This experience still stings O’Neill, particularly since it was summer and they’d won the last three matches of the previous season. He knows how Wilfried Nancy feels, although O’Neill didn’t lose a cup final or get ridiculed to the same extent as the Frenchman.

“I got bombed out in pre-season,” the Northern Irishman recalled. “How could they treat me like that! But they did and that’s the nature of the game and you have to be prepared for it.”

“I didn’t know this until last night that I was longer here as an interim than he (Nancy) was as the manager,” he added. “That’s actually quite sad. But that’s the nature of the game.”

As for O’Neill, he claims he’s too old to start worrying about his reputation but he’s still fretting about losing games. Lose too many of them and he will suffer the same fate as Nancy. “It’s the same old fears," he said. “Remember the old Pink Floyd song? 'Two lost souls swimming in a fish bowl….'”

Wish You Were Here, of course. And a song that also seems relevant with reference to a little fat winger christened the Picasso of the British game, who O’Neill is missing every day.