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martin o’neill He stressed that he had no idea whether he would remain in the position or not. celticnext match against st mirren Amidst reports that the Hoops have made their move Search for new permanent manager,
The 73-year-old has been in caretaker charge of the Scottish champions for the last four matches Brendan Rodgers resigned two and a half weeks ago,
It has been reported this week that the Celtic board are interviewing candidates, with Columbus Crew head coach Wilfred Nancy emerging as the new bookies’ favourite.
The Hoops have never publicly stated when they intend to appoint a new boss, and O’Neill – speaking to BBC Radio Ulster – was open-minded about his chances of still being in charge ahead of St Mirren’s Premiership trip to William Hill next Saturday evening.
“The short and honest answer is I don’t really know,” the Northern Irishman said in an interview conducted on Thursday and broadcast on Friday morning.
“I am not a party to the board’s negotiations with potential clients and anything like that, nor do I want to be because it has never been my prerogative.
“The gentleman involved can make up his mind about people very easily without me interfering in any aspect of it. I said I would do that until he found that replacement.
“And is that possible for next week? I really don’t know. My job was to come in and hold the fort, and as soon as someone is assigned, I’ll step aside.
“And if it were tomorrow, I would happily step aside. It’s not a problem. It’s nothing to do with any kind of ego or anything like that. It’s just to help in a very, very short period of time.”
In his four matches, O’Neill – assisted by Sean Maloney and Mark Fotheringham – has managed two Premiership wins, a Europa League defeat by Midtjylland and an extra-time victory over 10-man Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup semi-final.
The final against St Mirren takes place on December 14 and there are some who would like the veteran to remain in charge for the Hampden showdown to add to his trophy haul from his impressive first spell in charge in the early noughties.
“It doesn’t really matter,” O’Neill said, dismissing any notion that sentimentality should come into play.
“I’m a romantic person and have been romantic all my life. I know the history of football and all those special things, but it doesn’t bother me at all.”
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