Martin O’Neill should get to choose his own backroom team. Anything else is nonsense.

As I see it, Celtic’s board should give Martin O’Neill the backroom team he wants. If they refuse, then I genuinely do not know what has happened to the concept of respecting the manager.

Today there is talk of Efrian Juarez being lined up as his number two; why? What is the purpose of this, and why does it involve insulting two fine Celtic men to do it?

A club of Celtic’s calibre should operate properly. It should be thriving, planning ahead and building upon success, not taking a couple of steps backwards every time it appears to move forward. Whatever bizarre nonsense people inside the club are telling themselves here, giving Martin his people makes nothing but sense.

Martin O’Neill must therefore stand firm and demand the backroom team he wants, regardless of what the people in the boardroom might say.

If Celtic do not appoint O’Neill’s preferred backroom staff, it will be nothing short of an insult. Not only to the manager himself, but also to loyal servants of this football club who deserve far better than to be treated as disposable pieces in some boardroom game. That is exactly where my concern lies.

For all the glossy statements, carefully crafted public relations material and grand talk about ambition, respect and moving forward, moments like this reveal what a football club truly values.

If Celtic refuse to give Martin O’Neill the backroom team he wants, what message will that send?

It certainly will not be a message about respect.

It will tell everyone in football that Celtic respect money above everything else. It will tell managers that even after proving themselves, delivering success and dragging the club forward when others have left it drifting, their judgement still won’t be trusted far less backed in the manner it deserves.

It will also tell loyal servants of the club that years of dedication count for very little once the accountants begin making football decisions.

That would be a disastrous look for Celtic.

This is not some inexperienced manager asking the board for favours. This is Martin O’Neill, a man whose name is woven into the modern history of Celtic Football Club.

He understands what Celtic are, what the club represents and what it takes to succeed here. He knows the pressures, the expectations and the standards demanded by the support.

If he believes particular people belong in his backroom team, that judgement should carry enormous weight.

More than that, it should carry authority.

Managers are judged on results. They are judged on performances, trophies won and trophies lost. If that is the standard by which they live and die, then surely they should have the right to choose the people they trust to work alongside them.

That is not a radical concept. It is basic football management.

Yet Celtic sometimes seem determined to make life harder for themselves. Instead of moving decisively and operating like a modern football club with a clear structure, they have a habit of creating unnecessary obstacles.

They take situations that should be straightforward and somehow turn them into sagas.

That is what worries me.

A club of Celtic’s calibre should be thriving. It should be thinking ahead, building from positions of strength and showing the rest of Scottish football how a giant operates.

Instead, too often, Celtic appear to take two steps backwards when one simple step forward would do. The supporters can see it. The football world can see it.

Martin O’Neill can probably see it too.

That is why I believe he must stand firm. He must demand the backroom team he wants. He should not politely request it or quietly hope that the board eventually agrees.

He should demand it.

If the board have placed their faith in him as manager, they must also trust his judgement. Celtic cannot appoint a man because they believe he is the right leader and then immediately begin second-guessing the people he wants beside him.

That makes absolutely no sense.

The relationship between a manager and his coaching staff is built on trust, understanding, shared experience, football knowledge and professional respect. Those relationships are not created overnight, and that chemistry cannot simply be replaced because somebody in a suit believes they know better.

Football does not work like that.

Successful teams certainly do not work like that.

A manager must know that the people around him understand his methods, share his standards and will tell him the truth when difficult decisions have to be made. This is why the Juarez story would be so bizarre.

These things are especially important at a club like Celtic, where the pressure is relentless and every result is examined under a microscope.

The manager does not need strangers imposed upon him. He needs people he trusts.

My Ginger-Witch instincts are screaming that this is one of those moments that will tell us a great deal about where Celtic are heading.

Sometimes it is not the major transfer stories or headline signings that reveal the truth about a football club. Sometimes it is the decisions made quietly behind the scenes.

The decisions that rarely make the front page.

The decisions that show whether a board genuinely backs its manager or merely tolerates him.

If Celtic truly believe Martin O’Neill is the man to lead the club forward, then they should give him the tools he believes he needs.

It really is as simple as that. There should be no power struggles, ego battles, penny-pinching or boardroom nonsense. There should be trust.

Trust is exactly what Martin O’Neill has earned.

He has earned respect. He has earned authority. He has certainly earned the right to choose the people he wants standing beside him in the dugout.

Anything less would reflect poorly on Celtic Football Club.

Supporters expect standards. We expect ambition and competence. Most importantly, we expect the club to treat its football people with respect.

If Celtic fail to do that, they risk damaging much more than one managerial appointment. They risk damaging the club’s reputation and telling the football world that decisions at Celtic are driven by spreadsheets rather than football knowledge.

That is a road Celtic should never go down.

The board must understand that backing a manager means more than handing him the job title and taking photographs of him holding a scarf. It means giving him the authority and resources required to do the job properly.

It means listening when he explains what he needs.

It means accepting that a man with O’Neill’s experience might understand the requirements of his own backroom team better than people who have never managed a football club.

The board cannot demand results from him while limiting his ability to create the environment required to produce them.

That would be hypocrisy.

If things later went wrong, the same people who refused him his preferred staff would undoubtedly place the blame at his door.

That is how football boards often operate. They interfere with the process and then distance themselves from the consequences.

Celtic must be better than that.

O’Neill has already shown what he can bring to this football club. He has restored belief, raised standards and reminded everybody what strong leadership looks like.

He should not now be asked to compromise on the people he believes can help him carry that work forward.

The board have a simple choice.

They can back Martin O’Neill properly, appoint his preferred backroom team and show that the whole club is united behind its manager.

Alternatively, they can ignore his wishes and send the message that nobody, regardless of his achievements, experience or standing within Celtic, is ever truly trusted.

For me, the choice should be obvious.

Show Martin O’Neill the respect he deserves.

Give him what he wants.

Choose The CelticBlog as a ‘Preferred Source’ on Google News for quick access to the news you value.