Martin O’Neill reveals he had ‘no hesitation’ in accepting Celtic’s interim manager role after 10-minute call

Martin O’Neill says he had ‘no hesitation’ about taking the Celtic interim manager role after being given ’10 minutes to make up my mind’.

O’Neill is back in charge of the Scottish giants following the shock resignation of Brendan Rodgers on Monday night.

During their statement about Rodgers’ departure, Celtic revealed that O’Neill will take over with former Bhoys winger Shaun Maloney as his assistant.

O’Neill can expect a warm reception in his first game in charge against Falkirk in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday.

That is quickly followed by Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup semi-final against bitter rivals Rangers who have gone upheaval this month with the sacking of head coach Russell Martin followed by Danny Rohl’s hiring as his replacement.

Martin O’Neill ‘looking forward immensely’ to his Celtic return

O’Neill, who managed Celtic between 2000-2005, was unveiled to the public on Tuesday and spoke of his excitement at returning to the club he left 20 years ago.

‘I was asked if I’d come in and hold proceedings until they found a permanent manager. I had 10 minutes to make up my mind, which I did. No hesitation,’ he said.

‘It’s a bit surreal for me. I knew about this less than 24 hours ago. I look forward to it immensely.’

Speaking about his relationship with his former player Maloney – who has a foray into management before at Hibernian and Wigan Athletic – will work, O’Neill added: ‘If this had been 20-odd years ago, I’d definitely be dishing out all the instructions.

‘But, since this young man has been a manager, I will be listening more to him. He might be giving me the instructions.’

Who is in the running to be Celtic’s next permanent manager?

O’Neill’s first spell at Celtic was a huge success as they won three league titles, three Scottish Cups, a Scottish League Cup and reached a UEFA Cup final.

It is unclear if the 73-year-old will get to enjoy a second spell that fruitful with it unknown how long he will be in the role for.

Former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou, recently sacked by Nottingham Forest, is the bookmakers’ favourite to take the role permanently, with O’Neill and Maloney closely behind.

Bodo/Glimt’s Kjetil Knutsen is also on that list, along with legendary Manchester United strikers Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Ruud van Nistelrooy.

O’Neill last managed in 2019 during a brief spell with Nottingham Forest after his time as Republic of Ireland manager came to an end the year before.