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martin o’neil has jokingly revealed his intention to steal the team tracksuits before departure celtic fc after a successful Interim Mantra Incharge.
o’neil Took charge temporarily five weeks ago After the resignation of brendan rodgers and 73 year old man return to club Between 2000 and 2005 he achieved great success, much to the delight of everyone at Parkhead.
Five consecutive wins in Scottish PremiershipHaving erased an eight-point deficit to league leaders Hearts, including a hard-fought 1-0 win over Dundee on Wednesday evening, the clubs are now level on points and Celtic have a game in hand before the huge clash between them this Sunday.
O’Neill will not be in charge for that fixture, with the affable Northern Irishman ending his interim stint following Dundee’s win as Wilfred Nancy has left Major League Soccer team Columbus Crew. Become the new permanent boss.
O’Neill walks out of Celtic in a far better position than when he stepped into the breach a month earlier and he suggested he would take a souvenir to remember the experience.
“Do you know what? I’m going to take the tracksuit,” he said in the post-match press conference following Dundee’s win… “Steven, the kit man, he doesn’t know it, but I’m putting it in the bag. Seriously, absolutely. I’m definitely taking it.”
Although he never had any intention of earning the job permanently, O’Neill admitted that he would have liked to return to Celtic Park and help his old club.
“It’s really [been the time of my life]You know, seriously,” he said. “It’s like a complete blur.
“I was secretly hoping for Easter Road [a 2-1 victory over Hibernian on Sunday] This was going to be the last game, so I didn’t want to mess it up tonight.
“I thought we needed that second goal. We never really got it together and then you start to get a little nervous towards the end. But we won. It wasn’t the greatest win. But three points on the board keeps it going.”
After being informed that Hearts had dropped points against Kilmarnock to ensure that the eight-point deficit during his interim spell was overturned, O’Neill was largely satisfied.
He added, “It just shows you.” “So they have the better goal difference? But the game is in our hands. It was fantastic.
“I have to admit that it would have been nice to even close the gap over the course of time. But to get it back immediately, it was fantastic.”
Nancy face a tough challenge in a top-of-the-table clash with Hearts on Sunday, followed by a Europa League clash against Italian giants Roma on Thursday and then the League Cup final against St Mirren at Hampden Park three days later.
The Frenchman has signed a contract until 2028 and is keen to make his debut in Glasgow.
He described his appointment as a “big honour” and thanked O’Neill and Sean Maloney for their “fantastic” work and said: “It’s now up to me to continue this great work and take our great club forward and I can’t wait to move on and be part of such a fantastic organisation.
“Celtic is one of the proper football clubs in the world, with a real atmosphere and heart and soul, real high standards and real demands, which I am ready for. I know the history, I know the values of Celtic and I know what is expected of me on this journey.
“I know what Celtic means to so many people and my first aim will be simple – to give our fans a strong, exciting, aggressive, winning football team that they can be proud of.”