Former Celtic captain Jackie McNamara insists there is every chance that Martin O’Neill will stay on as manager beyond the end of the season.
O’Neill will lead Celtic into Saturday’s Scottish Cup final against Dunfermline at Hampden seeking to clinch a domestic double after winning the league title last weekend.
The 74-year-old has twice flown to the rescue this season after the departures of Brendan Rodgers and Wilfried Nancy.
O’Neill stated last weekend that Celtic had given him ‘a reason to live’ and did not rule out the possibility of remaining in charge.
The Parkhead club may yet look for someone younger to take the job long-term, but McNamara believes the answer could be staring them in the face.
The former Celtic and Scotland defender, who played under O’Neill and captained Celtic to Scottish Cup glory against Dunfermline in 2004, sees no reason why his old boss can’t continue for another year at least.
‘Yeah, I think it would be down to Martin and how he feels about it,’ said McNamara. ‘It’s a question of if he really wants to do it. I think if he does, then he’s shown how successful he is with the group of players he’s had to work with.
‘How he turned it around from before Wilfried and after Wilfried. The fact that he’s going for a double, it could have been a treble this season for Martin.
‘I think he’s got the best out of the players that he’s had. And that’s what a manager is.
‘He’s a clever man. But he’s got the young ones around him. He’s got [Shaun] Maloney, Fozzy [Mark Fotheringham], [Stephen] McManus.
‘The training-ground stuff, they can do all that and the coaching. I think Martin’s strength was always the dressing room before you go out. Also, making the wee decisions that he does and getting the best of the players. That’s what he’s done with the group there.’
McNamara also believes that keeping O’Neill in charge could give Celtic the best chance of qualifying for the Champions League.
With a huge overhaul of the squad expected in the summer, he feels the veteran manager’s big-game experience would be vital.
Pressed on whether he thinks O’Neill will stay, McNamara continued: ‘I think he might. One more season.
‘It would need to be a quick turnaround if someone was coming in now. There are a lot of things to be sorted in terms of the players and recruitment. There’s no doubt they need players to come in.
‘He’s got the experience of doing it [in the Champions League]. He’s got experience of getting there and qualifying.
‘That’s the other thing that Martin’s had to contend with coming in, having the European games and then the domestic games and the cup games on top of it.
‘He’s managed to navigate his way through all that. Some big matches away at Stuttgart and a few other ones there. He’s used to that pressure as well.’
McNamara started his career with Dunfermline before earning a move to Celtic in 1995. Although the Pars will be huge underdogs on Saturday, he insists it would be foolish to write off Neil Lennon’s men.
‘I think he’s done a great job,’ said McNamara of his former team-mate. ‘He’s got a couple of young lads in there. The Tod brothers and a few others. They’ve loved it under him.
‘It’s funny, everybody thinks this weekend it’s a formality, but Dunfermline have beat three Premiership clubs to get where they are.
‘It’s not been lucky or lucky draws on the way through. They’ve done it quite the hard way. And they deserve to be there. I’m sure Lenny will have them all organised and difficult to beat.’
Jackie McNamara was helping to celebrate the launch of On The Ball Academy’s free and subsidised summer football programme. The programme aims to make football more accessible for children across Glasgow during a landmark summer of sport, with the World Cup and Commonwealth Games set to inspire young people across the city.