Celtic’s options – Martin O’Neill or one of two ‘preferred candidates’

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The Celtic Star

·12 November 2025

Celtic’s options – Martin O’Neill or one of two ‘preferred candidates’

Chris Sutton has been discussing the Celtic managerial process that is underway and gives his assessment on the leading candidates, while pointing out that there’s one main priority above all other for whoever gets the job…

Celtic interim manager Martin O’Neill during the Premier League match between Celtic and Kilmarnock at Celtic Park on November 09, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Speaking on the Daily Record podcast, the former Celtic striker, who does not want Martin O’Neill to stay on much longer as he fears that his legacy at the club could end up being tarnished. It has to be said there are very few signs of that happening so far and Martin himself, when asked about Sutton’s opinion on the matter, at his media conference last Friday ahead of the game against Kilmarnock, dismissed the concern as irrelevant, pointing to perhaps only Jock Stein having achieved a proper legacy as Celtic manager.

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A view of a statue of Jock Stein, former player and manager, seen outside the stadium as fans arrive prior to the Scottish Cup Quarter Final match between Celtic and Livingston at Celtic Park on March 10, 2024. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

The two main contenders at the moment appear to be Kjetil Knutsen and Wilfried Nancy with Martin O’Neill probably still in Dermot Desmond’s thoughts perhaps until the end of the season if all parties could agree on that. On the two ‘candidates’ Sutton describes the Norwegian as ‘interesting’ but points out that whoever gets the job is going to have their work cut out.

Head coach Kjetil Knutsen of Bodo Glimt looks on prior to the UEFA Europa Conference League Play-Off second leg match between Crvena Zvezda and Bodo Glimt at stadium Rajko Mitic on August 28, 2024 in Belgrade, Serbia. (Photo by Srdjan Stevanovic/Getty Images)

“It’s interesting about Knutsen, because we would probably all look at his track record and think that Celtic would be better off going for him. But it’s like anything. When Ange Postecoglou came in, he took a lot of flak, didn’t he, because nobody had ever heard of him and dismissed his track record,” Sutton stated.

“I don’t know how people would view Knutsen’s track record and what he’s achieved at Bodo/Glimt, but the fact that he’s gone deep in European competitions before certainly would bode well.”

Wilfried Nancy of the Columbus Crew holds the Philip F. Anschutz Trophy after winning the 2023 MLS Cup against the Los Angeles FC at Lower.com Field on December 09, 2023 in Columbus, Ohio. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

The former Celtic striker added: “If Wilfried Nancy is the choice, you’ve got to give him a chance and give him opportunity. You know my view on this – any manager taking over this current squad has their work cut out. They just do, because it’s about the level of player and standard of player which they’re taking over.

“It’s going to be interesting to see, from now until January, there’s another couple of games in the Europa, how Celtic cope in that and the reaction from the fanbase. But I think now, the truth is that most Celtic fans are thinking, ‘blimey. If we can just win one thing this season, it has to be the league. Take the league, and we just have to forget about Europe.

“Because as much as everyone wanted to see progression this year in Europe, it doesn’t really look like this strong enough to be competitive at all.”

Last week in Denmark really was a reality check for Celtic in terms of where the squad currently stands in terms of quality and strength in depth and they were far too easily swept aside by FC Midtjylland, a team who turned out to be better than Celtic in every single area of the pitch.

Martin Erlic of FC Midtjylland scores the opening goal Midtjylland vs Celtic, UEFA Europa League, Group Stage, Football, MCH Arena, Herning, Denmark – 06 Nov 2025Herning MCH Arena Denmark Photo Michael Zemanek IMAGO/Shutterstock

Sorting that goes much deeper than a managerial change, it’s structural and it’s all about how Celtic wants to see itself and be seen as a football club. Domestic dominance has been a given but even that is being threatened this season amid internal turmoil and supporter unrest. Sutton’s bottom line though, in winning the league is fine but there’s also a final just around the corner that Celtic should be heavy favourites to win.

Martin O’Neill has set a ten points target, so we need six points from the remaining four matches. It’s perfectly achievable looking at the fixtures but equally when push comes to shove we usually come up short in European football.

Martin O’Neill interim manager of Celtic Midtjylland vs Celtic, UEFA Europa League, Group Stage, Football, MCH Arena, Herning, Denmark – 06 November 2025Herning MCH Arena Denmark Photo Michael Zemanek Shutterstock IMAGO

Martin with the assistance of Shaun Maloney has three consecutive domestic wins to their name, cutting Hearts lead by four points and knocking theRangers out of the Premier Sports Cup. That has surely got to be a factor because the interim management team’s direction of travel is clearly positive and hints at delivering more that the minimum Sutton has identified.

Why not simply stick with that for now unless there is one outstanding candidate who would be able to hit the ground running? But even then he would have little or no knowledge or much say on any January transfers the club should be working on right at this moment.

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