MARTIN O'NEILL ADMITS HE'S HAD THE TIME OF HIS LIFE AS NEW MAN WILFRIED NANCY THANKS HIM
Martin O'Neill claimed he’d had the time off his life in interim charge of Celtic as he signed off with a narrow win against Dundee to take the side joint top of the Premiership.
Asked by powerbroker Dermot Desmond to step in after Brendan Rodgers’ resignation five weeks ago, the 73-year-old presided over seven wins in eight games - including five consecutive Premiership victories - to claw back the eight-point gap to Hearts.
O’Neill had walked out of the tunnel for the final time minutes after Columbus Crewe boss Wilfried Nancy was confirmed as Celtic’s new manager on a deal until 2028.
His side had to work hard for their win against the Dark Blues which came courtesy of Daizen Maeda’s early goal.
Following emotional scenes at the final whistle, he said: ‘It’s been emotional. It’s like a complete blur.
‘I was secretly hoping that Easter Road was going to be the last game. So, I didn’t want to make a mess of it tonight.
‘I think the response of the players has been terrific. And I’m really pleased.
‘Once we got the goal, I thought that we needed a second goal in the game. We just never, never really got that together.
‘And then you start to get nervous a wee bit towards the end. But we won. It wasn’t the most flamboyant of victories. But three points on the board keeps it going.’
O’Neill was effusive in his praise for the players who’ve reacted to his presence across the past eight games.
‘What did these players mean to me? A great deal, I have to say,’ he added.
O’Neill says he’ll gladly take the time to speak to Nancy in the coming days.
‘I’m sure that he will have been watching the matches in the last three or four games,’ he said.
‘He’ll form his own opinion of the team. That is absolutely fine. And if he seriously would want to speak to me about my thoughts in the last five or six weeks, whatever that may be, I’ve got absolutely no problem.’
There’s little doubt the club owes a huge debt of gratitude to O’Neill, with Nancy suggesting he would be keen to arrange a meeting with him.
‘I want to thank the great Martin O’Neill and Shaun Maloney for all they have done in recent weeks with the team,’ said Nancy before last night’s game. ‘The job they have done has been fantastic.
‘These guys have given so much to the club across so many years and I know our fans, like me, all recognise the brilliant job they have done during this recent period.
‘They have my total respect and my total gratitude. I hope to meet them both very soon and thank them personally.’
While there will be an obvious step-up in intensity in Glasgow for the MLS, Nancy is adamant that he knows what he’s letting himself in for.
‘I am so happy to be named Celtic manager, it is a massive honour for myself and my family,’ he said.
‘Now it’s up to me to carry on this great work and carry our great club forward and I can’t wait to get going and become part of such a brilliant institution.
‘I know what Celtic means to so many people and my No. 1 aim will be simple - to give our fans a strong, exciting, attacking, winning football team they can be so proud of.’
Celtic chairman Peter Lawwell added: ‘We will give Wilfried all our support as we look to once again bring success to our fans.
‘I want to express our sincere thanks to Martin, Shaun and our backroom team for all they have done in recent weeks during this interim period. They have done such a tremendous job in stabilising the team and restoring a real level of confidence, with some fantastic results domestically and in Europe.’
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