Celtic Fans Would Have Been Unhappy – Bhoys Legend Explains Martin O’Neill Arrival | OneFootball

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Celtic legend Chris Sutton believes that in Martin O’Neill, the Bhoys have got themselves a figurehead, as if Shaun Maloney had been brought in by himself then the fans would have been unhappy.

Following uncertainty regarding his future and an expectation he would depart next summer, Brendan Rodgers tendered his resignation on Monday night, thus bringing an end to his second stint as the manager of the Glasgow club.

Following his departure, the club’s majority shareholder, Dermot Desmond, released a statement where he accused the former Liverpool manager of being ‘divisive, misleading, and self-serving’.

The club wasted no time in announcing former Celtic boss O’Neill as his successor and Maloney as his assistant.

Sutton insisted that it is a safe appointment given how loved O’Neill is by the Celtic fans, but warned that the manager is not walking into an easy situation at Parkhead.

The Celtic legend suggested that if the club had just brought in Maloney without O’Neill then the fans would not have been pleased.

“I understand the appointment of Martin because he is a very popular manager, he was my manager when I went up to Celtic”, Sutton said on Sky Sports News (3.57).

“He is loved by the supporters. I think had the club handed the role to just Shaun Maloney, a lot of supporters would have been unhappy about it.

“They have got themselves a figurehead, a front piece. But I suppose the biggest question is who is going to be the next permanent Celtic manager? Who are they going to go for next?  

“Because it is not going to be an easy situation, because in the near future, whoever is taking over the squad is decimated with injuries to key players.

“There is not the strength and depth and these next 16, 17 games until January, the team and squad will come under a fair bit of pressure.”

Following the 3-1 defeat to league leaders Hearts at the weekend, a defeat that widened the gap at the top, Sutton insisted that the Hoops were ‘a shambles’.

Now O’Neill must get on the training pitch with Maloney and try to put Celtic back on track quickly.