Celtic are back to square one after the sacking of Wilfried Nancy.
Nancy had been hired in place of Martin O’Neill in early December, despite the team’s excellent form under the interim boss.
This decision blew up in Celtic’s face, with the instant change in system resulting in a drastic downturn in the team’s fortunes.
Now, Paul Tisdale has followed Nancy out the door, after spearheading his ill-fated Celtic appointment. But details over the managerial hunt have now emerged.
Nancy may have been Tisdale’s man, but he wasn’t the only name on the club’s shortlist.
Celtic had Gary O’Neil on their shortlist
Kjetil Knutsen, Kieran McKenna and Ange Postecoglou were among the other prominent names in the running to replace Brendan Rodgers.
But Gary O’Neil was a less-mentioned name in the media.
O’Neil was part of the backroom staff at Bournemouth for a number of years before being given the interim job in 2022 – he remained in charge until the end of the season, rescuing them from relegation.
He later became manager of Wolves, finishing 14th in his first season before being sacked midway through the next.
O’Neil has been unemployed since, and speaking on talkSPORT, transfer insider Ben Jacobs revealed Celtic’s previous interest in him. “Gary O’Neill’s a really interesting one, because he was on the shortlist.
“At the moment, he’s waiting to see if he’s got the Strasbourg job, so if Celtic wanted to make an approach to Gary O’Neill, they’d have to do it very quickly.
“Because right now, he’s only one step away from joining Strasbourg and allowing Liam Rosenior to move to Chelsea.
“Celtic are going to have to move fast – I think there’ll be some in the fanbase who are actually in favour of Martin O’Neill not just coming back as caretaker, but becoming permanent manager.”
Could Martin O’Neill be Celtic’s permanent manager?
O’Neill has insisted throughout both his spells that he has no intention of staying as a long-term option at Celtic.
This is despite his immense popularity among the supporters, which has only been intensified after his brilliant interim spell earlier this season.
So could he be a permanent option? Shaun Maloney, Mark Fotheringham and Stephen McManus are all clearly capable coaches.
If O’Neill can deliver a league title this season, the clamour from fans may be too loud for the club to ignore.