NafisaDerek McInnes and Rangers may have done more than inflict another painful defeat on Celtic.
The Ibrox side’s remarkable run against their city rivals has completely changed the conversation around Martin O’Neill, with the Celtic manager’s future now firmly under the spotlight after a brutal sequence of results.
And just when it appeared the focus would remain on Celtic’s performances and O’Neill’s own admission that he needed to reflect on his position, former Hoops defender Charlie Mulgrew has provided another twist.
Mulgrew has suggested that O’Neill could be locked in a “standoff” with Celtic over his future — and believes the financial implications of ending his contract could be significant.
It is a revelation that comes directly on the back of a nightmare period for Celtic.
Rangers first dismantled Celtic 3-0 in the Premier Sports Cup, before O’Neill’s side suffered another setback against Ferencvaros in their Europa League opener.
Then came the biggest blow of all.
McInnes took Rangers to Celtic Park and watched his side produce another disciplined performance to secure a 1-0 Premiership victory, completing a remarkable run of three defeats for O’Neill’s team.
The back-to-back Old Firm defeats, in particular, have transformed the atmosphere around Celtic.
Suddenly, questions that may have seemed premature only weeks earlier are being asked openly: can O’Neill turn things around, and does he still want to be the man responsible for doing it?
O’Neill himself acknowledged those questions after the Rangers defeat.
He admitted that he would use the international break to reflect on his position, while Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson has subsequently made clear that the club continues to back the experienced manager.
But while that public backing appeared to offer some stability, Mulgrew has now lifted the lid on another factor that could be sitting behind the uncertainty.
Speaking on The Breakdown podcast, the former Celtic defender suggested O’Neill may actually have preferred to walk away after leading Celtic to a domestic double last season.
However, according to Mulgrew, the contract handed to O’Neill after that success changed the equation.
“A lot of Celtic fans that I am meeting are saying that Martin O’Neill should have just rode off into the sunset after Celtic won the double. My take on that is, that’s fair enough, but my opinion is Martin O’Neill would have liked to have done that – like we all would – but his reward would have been a contract. A two year contract, worth X amount.
“If he just walks away and says ‘thanks’, I don’t think he is getting a penny – or he is getting very little – compared to what he is due now. If they got rid of him now it would be close to £1 million he is owed, I would imagine.”
The figure cited by Mulgrew is his own estimate rather than a confirmed contractual figure from Celtic, but it nevertheless introduces a fascinating financial dimension to the situation.
Because if O’Neill is considering his future while Celtic are simultaneously weighing up whether to make a managerial change, there could be considerably more at stake than simply deciding whether the current run of results is enough to end his second spell at the club.
Mulgrew believes the manager still feels capable of turning the situation around, while Celtic may have little appetite for paying a substantial sum to terminate a contract that was only agreed after last season’s success.
“I think the standoff now is Martin O’Neill still thinks he can do the job, and I don’t think Martin O’Neill is leaving with no money. I don’t think Celtic want to pay him. Things aren’t a disaster right now, he has only lost three games – three big games, and that is a disaster at Celtic sometimes – but if you actually take a step back he is still top of the league.”
That is where the Rangers factor becomes particularly important.
McInnes and his players have exposed a problem Celtic cannot simply brush aside. The defeats have come in major fixtures, against their biggest domestic rivals, and have arrived in quick succession.
Yet despite all of that, Celtic remain top of the Premiership.
That leaves the club in a complicated position.
The results have created serious questions around O’Neill, but the league table does not suggest that Celtic’s entire season has collapsed. And with Nicholson publicly backing the manager, there is currently no indication that the board has decided to pull the trigger.
Mulgrew believes there is still plenty of time for O’Neill to change the narrative.
“There is a still a lot that can be done this season. If there is one man that can do it. So my point is, I think he would have liked to have done that [left in the summer], but how do you know back that contract and that money regardless of what age you are?”
That leaves Celtic facing an intriguing situation created, in large part, by Rangers’ recent dominance of the Old Firm meetings.
Had McInnes’ side not delivered two heavy blows in such quick succession, O’Neill’s future may not have become such an immediate talking point.
Instead, the Rangers defeats have forced the issue into the open.
O’Neill has admitted he will reflect. Celtic have publicly backed him. And now Mulgrew has revealed what he believes could be a significant financial obstacle standing between the manager and the exit door.
What began with Rangers piling pressure onto Celtic on the pitch has now developed into a much bigger question about what happens behind the scenes.
And for O’Neill, the international break has suddenly become about far more than simply preparing Celtic for their next match.
Nafisa
