When Martin O’Neill spoke on national radio on Monday morning, he was clearly unaware about events unfolding at Celtic.
O’Neill spoke of his belief that Hearts were genuine title contenders after their 3-1 victory over the champions at Tynecastle the day before.
He questioned Celtic’s physicality while admitting they were ‘in a wee bit of trouble’ after falling eight points behind.
Not even 12 hours later, after Brendan Rodgers had resigned and Dermot Desmond had phoned his old pal, O’Neill was back in charge.
Along with Shaun Maloney, he’s been tasked with saving Celtic’s season and catching Hearts.
O’Neill has stressed this is only a short-term fix until a permanent manager can be found. That might well be how Desmond framed it to him, but there’s a major problem with that.
As long as Hearts continue to motor along at the top of the Premiership, the Celtic job holds considerably less appeal to any prospective new boss.
Who’d want to come in mid-season, with a sub-standard squad and a raft of injuries, and be expected to overturn an eight-point gap on their main title rivals?
Who’d want to be the Celtic boss who watches Hearts become the first non-Old Firm team to win the league title in 40 years?
It becomes an incredibly tough sell.
Desmond’s relationship with Ange Postecoglou soured somewhat towards the end when, in the build-up to the 2023 Scottish Cup final, it became known he was speaking to Spurs.
There might well be a reluctance on both sides, given Postecoglou is not a man who generally goes back to previous clubs. But Celtic should at least ask the question.
The other contenders are either unrealistic or uninspiring. There’s no chance of Kjetil Knutsen leaving Bodo/Glimt in the final stages of a title battle in Norway, as well as a Champions League campaign. Aiming to secure a return to the Premier League, there seems little prospect of Kieran McKenna leaving Ipswich.
All of which raises the prospect of O’Neill and Maloney continuing indefinitely if they can get a tune out of these players and start eating into Hearts’ lead.
It’s not impossible to envisage O’Neill masterminding a great revival, winning the title, then endorsing Maloney’s appointment as manager next summer.
If Celtic can pull off the greatest of comebacks, don’t bet against the pair sticking around a little while longer.
