Martin O’Neill has admitted he could still walk away from Celtic even if he’s offered the manager’s job for next season.
After a rollercoaster of a season in which he’s twice taken charge, the Northern Irishman has delivered an unlikely double.
Following Saturday’s 3-1 win over Dunfermline in the Scottish Cup final, the 74-year-old said he expected to speak with Dermot Desmond in the coming days but had no idea what the club’s powerbroker had in mind.
Immediately after the final whistle, O’Neill made it clear that he wasn’t interested in taking charge for a long-term project. But even if Desmond has a one-year deal in mind, O’Neill is adamant that he could still reject a proposal.
Asked if he considered saying no to Celtic almost impossible, he stated: ‘No, I don’t think that at all. I really could do (reject an offer), I could do that, yes.
‘I haven’t been offered it, for a start, so I don’t want it pre-empted. But if there was (an offer), I would hope that Dermot, if he did offer me, would give me more than 10 minutes (to think about it) as he did in October.’
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O’Neill had been out of football for six years when Desmond first asked him to replace Brendan Rodgers in October, then returned to the fold in January after Wilfried Nancy was sacked after eight games.
With his legacy secure after adding two trophies to the seven he won between 2000 and 2005, he admitted that part of him can see the benefit of going out on a high.
‘Of course, absolutely,’ he added. ‘Yeah, there is that. This has been a surreal experience for me, both times coming back, yeah, and I wouldn’t disagree with you.’
O’Neill appears at least open to the possibility of remaining in charge, though — with a clear plan for his backroom staff to eventually succeed him possibly persuading him to remain.
‘The board might even think about that,’ he said. ‘Because Shaun (Maloney) and Fozzie (Mark Fotheringham), Big Mick (Stephen McManus) and Gavin (Strachan) have been terrific.’
Regardless of what Desmond decides, O’Neill feels it’s imperative that a decision is made quickly.
‘I agree, absolutely, they won’t have a great deal of time,’ he added. ‘You know, we’re getting towards the end of May, the season starts again in the first week of August. So yeah, they would need to start looking at things.
‘Hearts will go strong again. Rangers I think are a really fine footballing team. So, there’s plenty of challenges there for them, and they have to think about that.’
Despite being in management for over 30 years, O’Neill admits he’s still driven by a desire to prove something to himself.
‘It’s great and it’s lovely to end up (winning) and you think that you’ve proved something, but I’m never sure that you have, you know,’ he said.
‘Can I keep on doing it? Is it still there? Can I keep on doing it?
‘If I could clear my head and start again, I think I could do it, but I wouldn’t be really sure, not at this moment.’
Because of the uncertainty, O’Neill is unable to offer any clarity on the futures of Kelechi Iheanacho and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, with Celtic yet to inform the pair if they are going to take up the one-year options they have on them.
One man missing from Celtic’s celebrations was Jota, who has suffered another injury setback
‘Iheanacho, he keeps asking me — do you think, are they going to keep me on?’ he explained. ‘I’ve no idea, mate. I’ve no idea. Don’t ask me. I’m not the manager anymore.’
Meanwhile, O’Neill has revealed that Jota has suffered an injury setback and won’t now be available until October.
The Portuguese tore his cruciate ligament on the day Celtic won the title at Tannadice a year ago and didn’t play a single minute of this season.
It was widely expected that he’d return for pre-season training this summer. But, asked if the winger would be ready for the start of next season, O’Neill revealed: ‘I can’t see it. He’s had a couple of setbacks. He’s now in Portugal, doing some rehab.
‘He’s had one of those little blood injections to try and get the thing up and running.
‘I wouldn’t see him starting (the season). I’d be hoping maybe by Halloween, maybe earlier.
