Martin O’Neill is right to want players he already trusts at Celtic.

There is something that has become crystal clear to me over these past few weeks.

Martin O’Neill is not collecting old players because he is living in the past. He is not trying to recreate 2003. He is not chasing nostalgia. He is chasing quality, certainty and trust. There is a world of difference, and some people seem incapable of seeing it, as if they have put on pink blindfolds and completely deprived themselves of real-world vision.

The boss has re-signed Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and he now appears to want Kelechi Iheanacho back as well. Let me tell you, every time that brilliant player stepped onto the pitch last season, he looked capable of making something happen. He scored goals, he showed composure, and he looked like a dazzling footballer when he was fit enough to influence games properly.

Iheanacho deserves to be re-signed if Martin believes he can get him ready.

Who else does Martin want? Well, he also appears to want Marcelo Sarrachi. Some people think this is daft, but let’s face it, O’Neill is looking for high-calibre players. He is also trying to force the people on the Celtic board to get him what he wants, and frankly, that is exactly what he should be doing.

Martin O’Neill is not daft. He is not stepping onto the clouds, dreaming big dreams and doing nothing about them. He is a great manager, and he proved that 24 years ago. He proved it again last season when Celtic called for help. He did not say no. He simply said yes, walked back into the fire and delivered Celtic a Double. Some Celtic fans say he did the impossible, and I can understand why they feel that way.

The point is simple. Martin wants people he knows he can rely on, and maybe even people who make him feel younger. That is how it should be for a manager. Give him the staff, people and players he wants, and stop the nonsense coming from the Celtic board.

As I said, Martin is trying to build a brilliant Celtic squad and a proper structure around it. He has already said he needs people to support him and support his choices. If he wants to re-sign Iheanacho or Sarrachi, then let him do it. If he wants a high-calibre striker, left-back or midfielder, then let him have them, because Martin needs to build a squad and a bond with his players now.

Not in August. Not in a week. Not in a hurry at the end of the window.

Now, for God’s sake.

As usual, Celtic fans are already hearing the same chorus. “It’s daft.” “It’s backwards.” “We should be looking elsewhere.”

Really?

Because from where I am sitting, it is not daft in the slightest. It is intelligent. It is practical. It is the thinking of a manager who knows precisely what he needs to win football matches. Martin O’Neill wants players he already knows he can trust.

Imagine that.

A manager wanting footballers he knows will give him everything. What a revolutionary idea.

Some managers spend months trying to work out which players have the mentality to survive at Celtic. Martin already knows. He has worked with these lads. He knows their strengths, he knows their weaknesses, and, perhaps most importantly, he knows they will fight for him.

That matters.

Why do I think it matters? Well, my ginger witch instincts tell me that it matters far more than signing another fashionable youngster whose YouTube compilation looks wonderful but who disappears the moment the pressure arrives at Celtic Park.

To be clear, Martin is not shopping for names.

He is shopping for certainty.

After everything that happened last season, certainty is worth its weight in gold. Let’s not forget where this club was when Martin answered the call. Celtic were in chaos. The season looked like it was slipping away. So many people had already accepted failure.

Who stepped forward?

Martin O’Neill.

He did not hide. He did not make excuses. He did not ask for endless guarantees. He rolled up his sleeves, walked back into Paradise and got on with the job. Some people said it could not be done. Some people had already accepted defeat.

Martin O’Neill had not.

What happened? He delivered another league title. He delivered another Scottish Cup. He delivered another Double. To my surprise, some Celtic supporters described it as the impossible, and I would not argue too strongly with them. Given where we were, it felt like climbing Ben Nevis with the club on his shoulders.

That was not luck. It was not nostalgia.

That was greatness.

The funny thing is that I think Martin is sending another message with these transfer targets. He is telling the Celtic board something very clear. He is saying, “I am not interested in excuses. I am interested in footballers.”

He is forcing them to act. He is forcing them to back their own manager. Every name he mentions raises another simple question.

Why have Celtic not already got this done?

Too often our board behaves as though every transfer is some impossible mathematical equation that requires three months of discussion, seventeen scouting reports and six meetings over coffee. Meanwhile, other clubs simply identify their target and sign him.

It is hardly witchcraft. And I can confirm that as a ginger witch who is sometimes accused of casting spells and flying her broomstick in forbidden places around Scotland.

Speaking of witchcraft, my ginger witch instincts are tingling again, and they are very itchy. They have been whispering the same thing for weeks now.

Martin O’Neill is not building a sentimental squad.

He is building a dependable one.

He wants warriors. He wants professionals. He wants footballers who understand exactly what wearing that famous green and white shirt demands. Maybe that is why he keeps looking towards players he already knows.

Trust is not something you can buy on deadline day. You earn it. Martin has already earned theirs, and they have already earned his. That relationship has value.

People laugh when I say football is emotional, but of course it is. Managers are human beings. Every single one of us performs better when we are surrounded by people we trust. Football managers are no different.

If Martin feels more comfortable with players he knows, if he feels younger working alongside familiar faces, and if he believes they can help him squeeze another five or ten per cent from this Celtic side, then why on earth would we argue with him?

There is no point arguing with one of the best managers this club has ever had. So perhaps the Celtic board should stop their nonsense, because Martin is not blind. He knows perfectly well what they are up to.

He is the man standing on the touchline. He is the one carrying the pressure. He is the one whose reputation is on the line every Saturday. Not the board. Not the accountants. Not the recruitment department.

Martin O’Neill.

So perhaps it is time everyone else stopped pretending they know better. Twenty-four years ago he transformed Celtic. Last season he rescued Celtic. That is quite the CV.

He has earned the right to ask for the players he wants.

Actually, I will go one step further.

He has earned the right to demand them.

Because if Celtic have finally found the man capable of dragging us back towards genuine European respectability, then the least this football club can do is put the proper tools in his hands.

Enough with the delays. Enough with the endless negotiations. Enough with pretending every transfer fee is the end of civilisation. Back your manager. Give him the staff he wants. Give him the players he wants. Give him the squad he believes can take Celtic forward.

And for heaven’s sake, stop acting like a travelling circus.

Martin O’Neill has already proved, twice, that he knows exactly how to build a winning Celtic team. The board now have a very simple choice.

Trust the man who delivered the Double, or become the biggest obstacle standing in his way.

For me, the answer could not be any more obvious.

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