Martin O’Neill has insisted he is the man to lead Celtic forward after using the ongoing international break as a period of reflection.
The 74-year-old signed a one-year deal to stay at Parkhead after two interim spells last season culminated in a league and Scottish Cup double. His position came under scrutiny last month when Celtic suffered two defeats by Rangers, either side of a 3-1 home defeat by Ferencvaros in the Europa League.
Following that difficult run, O’Neill said “it might be time to wrap it up”, in reference to his managerial career. But Celtic rallied around their legendary boss, with chief executive Michael Nicholson publicly backing the Northern Irishman. Two weeks on, O’Neill has now stated he has the drive to stay on.
“I am extremely prepared now for it,” O’Neill said in a club interview. “We had a difficult week. That can happen. You can lose to your arch-rivals, you can lose the European game. It’s certainly not the end of the world as it seemed to be described as.”
“I thought I would take a bit of time, and it didn’t take me that much time to think about it,” he added. “I want to lead the club, I want to try to win the league and I’m just as determined now than ever before. It was a time of reflection for a moment or two, but overall, I’m back, I’m raring to go and the team’s ready.”