Martin O’Neill’s Celtic Comments Have Changed Dramatically Since June And Now The Silence Is Deafening.

When Martin O’Neill agreed to remain Celtic manager in June, I don’t think many of us imagined we’d be sitting here less than four months later wondering whether he even wants to continue.

Yet here we are.

And the more I’ve gone back through Martin’s comments since accepting the job permanently, the more interesting the timeline becomes.

This isn’t about taking one sentence out of context or trying to manufacture a crisis where one doesn’t exist.

These are Martin’s own words.

The optimism of June. The growing frustration around recruitment. The disappointment surrounding the timing of Arne Engels’ departure. The frantic end to the transfer window. Then three consecutive defeats and, finally, Martin openly admitting he needed time to reflect on whether he could turn things around.

That reflection was supposed to happen during this international break.

So what was the answer?

Because we’re still waiting.

June – Martin Is Back And Celtic Promise To Back Him

Go back to June and everything sounded incredibly positive.

Celtic had just pulled off something remarkable. O’Neill had returned initially as an interim manager and somehow ended the season with the Premiership and Scottish Cup double.

The appetite, and more importantly, ability was clearly still there.

On top of that, Celtic made it abundantly clear that Martin wasn’t being persuaded to stay simply to make do with what he already had.

Brian Wilson publicly promised Celtic would be “very active” in recruitment.

In fact, Wilson went even further.

When asked whether O’Neill would receive the resources to strengthen, he said:

“Absolutely, and that is very much part of the basis on which he’s wanted to come back and we’ve wanted him to come back.”

That’s pretty unequivocal.

Martin stays. Celtic back him. The squad gets stronger.

That was the deal.

But almost immediately, the summer started drifting.

Players left and replacements weren’t arriving quickly enough.

For a manager who had just delivered Celtic an unlikely double, it didn’t exactly feel like the red carpet was being rolled out.

August – The Tone Starts Changing

Then came Arne Engels.

Celtic sold him to West Ham immediately before the Champions League play-off against LASK.

O’Neill didn’t hide his disappointment.

He acknowledged Engels wanted the move, but described losing him at that particular moment as “disappointing” because of how difficult his running power was to replace.

Even worse, Martin admitted there was a “fairly decent chance” Celtic wouldn’t have that replacement through the door before the European tie.

There it was again.

The same problem Celtic supporters had screamed about previously.

Timing.

It’s not enough to eventually sign a footballer. The manager needs them when the important football matches are actually being played.

We know what happened next.

Celtic failed to qualify for the Champions League.

Again.

September – Celtic Scramble And Martin Closes Ranks

Eventually the players arrived.

Plenty of them.

But five of Celtic’s final six additions were loans, and a huge chunk of the business was completed right at the death.

After the window closed, O’Neill was asked repeatedly about it.

His public position was that he was “really, really pleased” with the players Celtic had signed.

But there was one exchange I found particularly interesting.

Asked why Celtic had once again left so much business until the end of the window, Martin eventually responded:

“How many times are you going to ask me that?”

He then admitted that, ideally, he’d have preferred players earlier so they could be bedded in.

That tells you everything without telling you everything.

And I actually understand what Martin was doing.

The window was shut.

There was nothing to be gained from publicly slaughtering the people above him.

He had a squad to manage and new players who didn’t need to hear their manager complaining about the players Celtic hadn’t signed.

So Martin closed ranks.

Fair enough.

But it doesn’t erase everything that happened before it.

There was another moment in September that, looking back now, perhaps told us something about Martin’s changing demeanour.

Before the Ferencváros game, TNT Sports reporter Connie McLaughlin asked O’Neill about his team selection and, specifically, the decision to bring Viljami Sinisalo back into goal.

Martin wasn’t interested in explaining it.

“Believe it or not, Connie, my job is not actually to explain every single situation to you.”

He even suggested he’d explain it to supporters through Celtic TV instead.

Now, I’m not going to pretend one tetchy interview means a manager is falling apart. Martin O’Neill has always had a spiky side to him and that’s hardly breaking news.

But the timing is interesting when we’re piecing together how his mood appeared to change across the summer and into September.

Four days earlier Celtic had been beaten 3-0 at Ibrox. Recruitment had been questioned. His tactics and team selections were coming under increasing scrutiny. Suddenly the jovial Martin we’d watched after returning to Celtic wasn’t quite as jovial anymore.

O’Neill actually acknowledged that himself afterwards.

“I can get a bit tetchy now and again. Sometimes I have to apologise for that.”

On its own, it’s nothing.

Placed into the timeline of everything else that was happening around him?

I think it tells us something.

Then Everything Fell Apart

This is where the story takes another dramatic turn.

Three defeats.

Rangers away.

Ferencváros at Celtic Park.

Rangers again, this time at home.

A hat-trick of defeats.

And suddenly we weren’t talking about recruitment anymore.

We were talking about Martin O’Neill’s future.

After that latest Rangers defeat, Martin could easily have given the standard managerial answer.

“We’ll work harder.”

“We’ll turn it around.”

“I’m confident in the players.”

Instead, he openly questioned himself.

Martin said he would reflect on the games, speak to the board and take a couple of days away.

Asked directly what would happen if that reflection led him to conclude he couldn’t improve Celtic, his answer was fascinating.

“By that time, I will promise you, I’ll let you know.”

That’s the bit I keep coming back to.

Well, Martin?

Let me make something abundantly clear.

I love Martin O’Neill.

I’ve made no secret of that.

He’s probably my favourite Celtic manager of all time and I got absolutely no enjoyment from watching him standing there after that Rangers game questioning whether he could still turn this around.

I’d love nothing more than for Martin to return after this break, win ten games on the spin and make every single one of us who questioned him look like absolute idiots.

But Martin raised the question.

Not me.

He told us he was going to reflect and specifically said he’d let us know if he reached the conclusion that he couldn’t improve things.

We’ve now had the reflection period.

So what happened?

Did Martin go away for a couple of days, clear his head and come back absolutely convinced he’s the man to lead Celtic forward?

Great.

Tell us.

Did he sit down with Michael Nicholson and Dermot Desmond and receive assurances that changed his thinking?

Tell us.

Does he still have doubts?

That’s considerably more worrying, but supporters deserve to know where this is going.

Instead, we’ve had silence.

And right now that silence is deafening.

Celtic Should Already Have Been Planning For What Comes Next

There’s another part of this which shouldn’t be forgotten.

Whatever happens over the next few weeks, Celtic have always known Martin O’Neill wasn’t going to be the manager for the next five years.

He’s 74.

His guaranteed contract runs for this season, with Celtic holding an option for another year.

Before the permanent appointment was even made, Martin himself appeared ready to leave Celtic having delivered the double.

So succession planning shouldn’t begin whenever O’Neill eventually leaves.

It should already exist.

That’s what well-run football clubs do.

If Martin turns things around and stays until the end of the season, brilliant. Celtic should still be planning.

If he activates another year, you keep planning.

And if his recent period of reflection has created genuine doubts over whether he wants to continue, Celtic should be significantly further down that road already.

This international break offered the perfect opportunity to establish exactly where everybody stands.

Instead, we’re approaching the return of domestic football with the biggest question still unanswered.

In June, Martin O’Neill was persuaded to stay and Celtic publicly promised to back him.

By August, he was disappointed at losing a major player immediately before a Champions League qualifier without a replacement ready.

In September, he was defending a transfer window that once again became a late scramble.

Three defeats later, he was publicly reflecting on whether he could turn Celtic around.

And now?

Nothing.

Maybe the silence ends with Martin walking back through the doors at Lennoxtown rejuvenated, determined and ready for another fight.

I sincerely hope it does.

But he asked himself a question after Rangers that every Celtic supporter heard.

Martin has had his time to reflect.

Now I’d quite like to know the answer.