If the board leaves Martin to absorb the blows that’s cowardice, not support.

Perhaps the worst thing, the very worst thing, about the current crisis at Celtic is the near certainty that it will be allowed to develop further.

And from there, several things become obvious.

The first is that in spite of their soft words, this club has no real interest in backing or supporting Martin O’Neill.

If Celtic were even remotely interested in backing or supporting O’Neill, they would give him the easiest possible exit from the morass in which they have stuck him.

The board failed him over the summer. We all know that.

The recruitment was not good enough. The squad was not properly equipped. We know there has been anger and disharmony around what happened, and we know O’Neill has hardly sounded thrilled about the way the summer unfolded.

So, the idea that the board is now going to “back” him and offer him its full support is almost painfully funny. Where was that support before? Where was it when the squad needed fixed? Where was it when decisions had to be made which might have prevented this situation from developing in the first place?

So, what exactly is the club pledging its support to O’Neill for, if not to support him in any meaningful sense?

The answer looks increasingly obvious.

They are perfectly happy for him to remain in place as their firewall.

And you know something? In one sense, it will work.

Because if this season spirals into the kind of death roll I now believe is entirely possible, the anger will inevitably be directed at O’Neill and his coaching staff.

That is how football works. The manager is the visible figure.

He picks the team. He gives the interviews. He stands on the touchline. He carries the immediate consequences.

And the fact that the people above him appear willing to accept O’Neill as collateral damage in order to protect themselves is one of the most disgusting aspects of this whole affair.

Martin O’Neill has already raised doubts about the team. He has raised doubts about himself. He has talked about his age. He has talked about his health. He has openly wondered whether he still has the energy required to finish the job.

Those are not trivial comments. Those are things the people above him should be listening to very carefully. Instead, they seem content simply to leave him in place.

The optics of that are appalling.

They should not imagine that it makes them look strong. It makes them look weak. It looks like they are hiding behind him. It looks like they are pushing him out in front to take the bullets.

And if there is any financial pressure involved in O’Neill’s decision to remain, if he feels that walking away would cost him money he believes he is entitled to under his contract, then Celtic should remove that obstacle immediately.

I am not saying I know that is happening. I do not. But if money is part of the reason he feels unable to walk away, then the decent thing is obvious.

Pay him. Pay him what he is owed. Pay him the full value of what remains of his agreement if that is what it takes. Give him the freedom to make the decision which is best for himself and for Celtic.

Do not make it difficult for the man to leave.

They are the ones who hamstrung him. They are the ones who put him in this position. The least this club can do is honour its commitments to him and allow him to walk away with dignity if that is what he wants.

Because if O’Neill stays and everything goes wrong, he will inevitably carry responsibility for it. People will say that he should have walked. People will say that he gambled with the season. People will say that he stayed too long.

And if that happens, nobody above him should imagine that because O’Neill carries that burden, they will escape their share of it.

They will not.

Let me say this again. This is not Brendan Rodgers. This is not somebody they can easily turn a large section of the support against. Martin O’Neill has given exemplary service to this football club. Exemplary service.

He gave Celtic one of the greatest modern eras in its history. He came back when the club was in trouble and helped rescue the season again. There is enormous affection for him, and there should be.

So, if anyone inside Celtic thinks they can use that affection as a shield, they are playing an extraordinarily dangerous game.

Because supporters will remember. We will remember if O’Neill is left out there to absorb the blows. We will remember if his reputation is damaged while the people who created the conditions around him remain safely inside the building.

And if his standing with supporters is harmed by this season, that damage will be nothing compared to the damage which will fall on the people who allowed it to happen.

Everyone knows Dermot Desmond carries enormous responsibility for the way this club operates. But “I was only following orders” is not a defence for anybody else. Not here.

If your conduct allows harm to come to another human being when you have the power to prevent it, then you are responsible for your choices. Whether that harm is reputational, whether it affects somebody’s health, whether it affects their emotional state, if you can see what is happening and you simply stand back because somebody more powerful has told you to, then you do not get to wash your hands afterwards.

You are culpable too.

It does not matter unless the man in Ireland literally has his hand up your backside and is operating you like a glove puppet. Celtic has a duty of care to its manager. It has a duty of care to every member of staff.

And anyone who stands back, watches this situation deteriorate and then tries to blame everything on the man at the very top is abdicating their own responsibility.

You cannot be forced to suspend your humanity.

You can only choose to do it.

And if people inside Celtic choose to leave Martin O’Neill standing in front of the firing line because it protects them from the consequences of their own failures, then there should be consequences for that too.

If this board genuinely supports Martin O’Neill, it should prove it. Not with a statement. Not with empty words. Not with another public vote of confidence.

Give him an honest choice. Give him the freedom to leave if that is what he believes is best. And if he goes, let him go with his dignity intact.

Because leaving him there to carry everybody else’s failures is not support.

It is cowardice.

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