Martin O'Neill did a tremendous job saving Celtic's season last time around over his two interim runs, both coming in difficult circumstances. The Northern Irishman deserves all the credit in the world for that.

That being said, last season's achievements cannot distract from the fact that Celtic are struggling badly at this point in time.

The Hoops have now lost three games on the trot, going into this international break. In fact, it has come at the right time and gives everybody a chance to regroup.

The international break has also come with a flurry of rumours though. There have been constant suggestions that O'Neill's future at Celtic Park is up in the air.

Well, what does Dermot Desmond think about continuing with O'Neill as Celtic manager beyond this international break? We now have the answer.

As reported by CeltsAreHere, Stephen McGowan said about the situation on BBC Scotland’s Scottish Football Podcast:

"And I’m sure Martin O’Neill will have spoken to Dermot Desmond, who has no intention of pulling the trigger himself.

“I think there’s no question of Celtic expediting this process.

“So it will be entirely down to Martin and where he feels about it.”

So, it appears that the ball is completely in O'Neill's court. Desmond has no intention of showing the club legend the exit door at this point in time.

And that feels like the right decision to be fair. Yes, Celtic have been on a bad run of form and looked out of sorts since that 5-1 away defeat at the hands of LASK, which knocked them out of the Champions League qualifiers again, even when they led the tie 4-0 with 60 minutes to go.

At the same time though, one needs to recognise that changing managers in the middle of the season is not a simple process. Celtic fans should know that well, having seen how things turned out last season.

Celtic cannot afford a repeat of the Wilfried Nancy situation. The Frenchman's month-long run at Parkhead, before being sacked, was enough proof of how badly things can turn out when an appointment goes south.

There is no guarantee that the same thing will not happen with whoever replaces O'Neill. So, for Celtic, it is about minimising the risk involved.

That means continuing with O'Neill. The Northern Irishman has seen and done it all in Scottish football. If there is anybody who can turn this around, it is him.

We saw him do that last season. That was not a lifetime ago. Football has not changed drastically since then.

Obviously, there is a possibility that O'Neill might not want to continue. In that case, the Hoops would need to find a replacement and quickly.