'I can’t understand': Celtic board slammed for not giving 'therapist' Martin O'Neill keys to Parkhead

Handed the reins at Parkhead following the resignation of Brendan Rodgers in November, the 73-year-old manager has won all five league games in charge of the club, ending his temporary spell in charge on a high by defeating Dundee 1-0 on Wednesday night, with Celtic confirming the appointment of Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy as their next permanent boss ahead of kick-off.

An icon on the Celtic terraces after winning seven trophies during his first spell between 2000 and 2005, O’Neill has clawed back a seven-point deficit to league leaders Hearts, guided the club to the Premier Sports Cup final, and secured an impressive Europa League win at Feyenoord last week, though it’ll be 48-year-old Nancy who leads the club going forward.

The Frenchman, who was named the MLS coach of the year in 2024 after leading his Crew side to the title, has agreed a two-and-a-half-year deal with the Scottish champions on Wednesday, and is expected to be in the dugout for the table-topping clash with Hearts at the weekend. However, former Nottingham Forest striker Dean Saunders admits he is shocked O’Neill has not been considered for the role on a permanent basis after his sterling 37-day spell in interim charge.

“I can’t understand why they haven’t given Martin O’Neill the job,” said Saunders. “He obviously knows people inside out. He's also a good judge of men. He's like a therapist to players, he works out what makes you tick. And he's 70-odd now, so he's even wiser than he was before. He might not have the energy on the training pitch that he had, but he's got other people doing that.”

With six wins in his seven matches in charge and a huge upturn in performance, the former Wales international admits he was so taken aback by the decision not to offer O’Neill the job that he believes there’s only one plausible reason he wasn’t given the keys to the Celtic dugout.

“It can only be that he said he doesn't want to do it,” Saunders told BOYLESports. “He must have said, ‘I'm not doing this permanently. I've got a life to lead.' Because it does take over your life, 24 hours a day. I've done it for 15 years, and one day my son walked in the living room and I said, ‘Flippin' heck, you've grown.’ And I thought, ‘Have I just said that?’ I obviously had not noticed, because you're that oblivious to what's going on.

“You're wrapped up in the football, you don't sleep. You never get a day off, you've always got something to do. Martin probably knew it's going to take up all his life. So he's either said I don't want to do it or they decided he's too old and that they needed someone younger.

“As if the players don't relate to the manager because he's too old. It's not stopping Martin O'Neill. They won nearly every game, they were a shambles before he came in.”

Sign up to The Scotsman’s daily football newsletter to get unrivalled Scottish football news and analysis - subscribe for free here.