Martin O’Neill’s future as Celtic manager is hanging by a thread after one of the worst weeks the club has seen in recent memory, with the 74-year-old now seriously weighing up whether he has a future at Parkhead.
The veteran boss has endured an absolute nightmare seven days, with Rangers handing Celtic two heavy defeats in quick succession. Back-to-back losses to your fiercest rivals is the kind of thing that gets managers sacked, and the pressure inside Celtic Park is now at boiling point.
Sources close to the situation suggest O’Neill is taking time to reflect on his position, with those around him in no doubt about just how serious things have become. A key ally of the manager has reportedly delivered a blunt assessment of where things stand, making clear that results simply have to improve or the consequences will be unavoidable.
For a club of Celtic’s stature, losing to Rangers once is painful enough. Losing to them twice in the same week is the sort of thing that shakes a dressing room to its core and turns the support against the dugout fast. The Celtic faithful are not known for their patience when things go wrong, and the mood among fans right now is one of deep frustration.
O’Neill, who of course had a legendary first spell in charge at Celtic, leading the club to a famous run to the UEFA Cup final in 2003, returned to the hot seat with enormous goodwill from supporters. That goodwill is now being tested severely. The romance of his comeback story can only carry so much weight when results on the pitch are this poor.
Rangers, meanwhile, look sharp, organised and full of confidence. The manner in which they dismissed Celtic on both occasions will have stung badly. It was not just the results but the way they were achieved, with Celtic looking short of ideas and short of the intensity you need to compete in Old Firm football.
The Celtic board now face a decision that could define their season. Sticking with O’Neill means backing a manager who has genuine history with the club but who is currently struggling to get his ideas across to the players. Moving on means the disruption of a managerial change mid-season, something no club ever wants to deal with.
What is clear is that something has to change. Celtic cannot afford to keep dropping points and losing ground in the title race while their city rivals grow in confidence. The gap between the two clubs, at least in terms of current form, looks worryingly wide right now.
O’Neill has until now remained publicly composed, but behind the scenes the conversations are said to be frank and direct. Nobody connected with Celtic is pretending everything is fine. The question is whether the board move quickly or give the manager time to turn things around.
Given the scale of these two defeats and the manner in which Rangers dominated both games, time may well be the one thing Martin O’Neill does not have.