Martin O’Neill And Roy Keane Together Again? The Celtic Solution Nobody Saw Coming.

There is a Roy Keane question doing the rounds at Celtic right now, but I think everyone might be asking the wrong one.

Could Keane replace Martin O’Neill?

Maybe.

But how about this instead.

Could Roy Keane come in and help save Martin O’Neill’s Celtic reign?

Now you’ve got my attention.

Keane was sitting inside Celtic Park watching the 1-0 defeat to Rangers. O’Neill then headed into this three-week international break admitting he had some thinking to do about his future.

Since then, Keane has admitted that his managerial “pilot light” is still on.

Interesting terminology!

Suddenly, the idea of seeing these two together again doesn’t sound quite as daft as it might have a fortnight ago.

Because they’ve done it before.

O’Neill specifically chose Keane as his Republic of Ireland assistant in 2013. They spent more than five years together, took Ireland to Euro 2016 and reached the play-offs for the 2018 World Cup.

When O’Neill later took over at Nottingham Forest, who did he turn to again?

Roy Keane.

There is clearly a relationship there. More importantly, there is trust.

So forget about Keane replacing Martin for a minute.

If O’Neill has spent this international break wondering whether he has the energy to drag Celtic out of the hole they currently find themselves in, could part of the answer already be sitting in his phone contacts?

I love the idea as a football romantic.

Keane in the Celtic gear, swaggering on to the turf at Lennoxtown on Day 1 goes viral. Make no mistake.

And anyone who knows the story behind The Bhoycie Bus will know I’ve got previous here.

Back in 2021, Celtic were looking for a manager and I was appearing on another Celtic podcast, A Celtic State of Mind. I made absolutely no secret of the fact that I wanted Roy Keane.

It became a running joke.

In my defence, if you considered the other names considered after the Eddie Howe debacle, Keane made most sense to me.

The Keane bus. The Bhoycie Bus.

Five years later, that daft joke is the name of my YouTube channel.

So cards on the table – I’ve always been intrigued by the thought of Roy Keane at Celtic.

This time, however, I’m not talking about giving him the manager’s job.

I’m talking about putting him back beside the man he has already worked successfully with.

And there’s another reason I don’t think it’s nearly as wild as it first sounds.

Keane has described those years working alongside O’Neill with Ireland as “probably the highlight of my career”.

That’s quite something coming from Roy Keane.

Manchester United captain. Seven Premier League titles. One of the outstanding midfielders of his generation.

Yet that period working alongside Martin clearly meant a great deal to him.

Now look at where Celtic are.

Three defeats on the bounce. Confidence looks absolutely shot. Tactics and formations have been questioned. O’Neill himself has admitted he needed to reflect on things.

Charlie Mulgrew has now added another interesting dimension to the whole situation.

Speaking on The Breakdown podcast, Mulgrew floated the possibility of something resembling a standoff between Celtic and their manager.

His argument was pretty straightforward.

O’Neill still believes he can turn this around, so why would he walk away? Celtic, meanwhile, gave him a contract after last season’s success and would potentially have to pay him off if they decided to make a change.

Mulgrew estimated that figure could be close to £1million.

Let’s be absolutely clear about that part tohugh it is Mulgrew’s estimate, not a reported settlement figure from Celtic or O’Neill’s and can be taken with a pinch of salt.

But the wider point is interesting.

What if O’Neill doesn’t want to go?

What if Celtic don’t particularly want to sack him?

Then perhaps the answer isn’t changing the manager.

Perhaps it’s changing what’s around him.

And that’s where Keane suddenly becomes a really interesting conversation.

Celtic look like a team desperately needing fresh energy.

Whatever you think about Roy Keane, energy, standards, personality and authority have never exactly been in short supply.

Can you imagine him walking into Lennoxtown tomorrow morning?

Nobody is wondering who the bloke in the corner is or wondering whether he carries authority.

And, crucially, O’Neill already knows exactly what Keane brings.

He chose him for Ireland.

Then he chose him again at Nottingham Forest.

This isn’t some random former Celtic player being thrown into the conversation because supporters recognise the name.

These two have actually worked together.

Successfully, in the case of Ireland.

Keane attended the derby, drops a quote about the managerial pilot light and Bhoycie is jumping all over it getting himself over excited is probably closer to the mark.

That doesn’t mean it isn’t worth discussing.

Especially after Keane’s own comments.

He still watches football with a manager’s eye. He still finds himself looking at teams and believing he could make a difference.

And that “pilot light” is apparently still burning.

Would Keane want to swap a comfortable and successful media career for the daily grind of Lennoxtown?

I’ve no idea.

Would Celtic even consider changing O’Neill’s backroom team midway through the season?

Again, we don’t know.

But I know which question interests me more right now.

Rather than immediately asking whether Roy Keane could be Celtic’s next manager, I’m wondering whether he could have a role in keeping the current one in his job.

Maybe Celtic’s options aren’t simply O’Neill stays or O’Neill goes.

Maybe there is a third option.

O’Neill stays — but gets reinforcements.

A fresh voice. A huge personality. Somebody capable of challenging him rather than simply agreeing with him. Somebody who already understands how he works and has stood beside him through enormous pressure before.

Martin O’Neill and Roy Keane.

Together again.

At Celtic.

If Martin decides he’s got one more fight in him, maybe it’s time to get the old band back together.

And if Roy Keane walks through the doors at Lennoxtown after the international break?

Well…

The Bhoycie Bus might finally have come full circle.