Celtic's stance on sacking Martin O'Neill following their defeat at the hands of the Rangers has been confirmed.
Martin O'Neill saved Celtic last season. There are no two ways about it. The Northern Irish manager came in an interim capacity twice, under difficult circumstances, and turned around results on both occasions.
He took a team that had seemed headed for a trophyless campaign and got a league and cup double out of them. It could have easily been a treble if he had been in charge of the League Cup final as well.
That earned O'Neill the permanent Celtic job this summer, even though he is 74 years of age. It has not been smooth sailing lately though.
Unfortunately, it is O'Neill who is struggling to get results this time around. And things are not showing any signs of improvement.
Celtic have not lost three games on the trot. Two of them came against the Rangers, and the Hoops did not score in either derby. Naturally, questions are being raised about O'Neill's future as a result.
Could Celtic sack Martin O'Neill?
An update from Football Insider before the derby claimed that O'Neill was not facing the sack at Celtic. But he knew that he needed to keep them above the Rangers to stay in the job.
The outlet had also suggested that O'Neill was not facing the sack even if Celtic lost. But the pressure would certainly be on them to react quickly after the international break.
Well, as we now know, Celtic did end up losing. Now, it remains to be seen how the club end up reacting to it after the international break.
As for the fanbase, it feels like a large portion of them has already given up on O'Neill turning this around.
Problem with sacking O'Neill right now
Well, it is not as simple as just sacking O'Neill. The Hoops will also need to bring in a replacement to turn this around. And we all know how difficult that can be.
Just look at how things turned out with Wilfried Nancy. The Frenchman turned out to be arguably the worst manager in Celtic history and lasted merely a month, after being brought in last season.
It is quite possible that Celtic could get that appointment wrong again. And there are not too many options floating about at this point in time.
At least in O'Neill, they have someone who has shown he can succeed. He is a club icon and always will be. And the fans will be hoping he will turn it around after the international break.
