Martin O’Neill can be ‘bomb bunker round rest of boardroom’

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The Celtic Star

·17 November 2025

Martin O’Neill can be ‘bomb bunker round rest of boardroom’

An interesting suggestion from Keith Jackson writing in Daily Record ahead of the Celtic PLC AGM on Friday 21 November regarding Celtic legend Martin O’Neill’s possible next role at Celtic Park..

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)

He reckons that Celtic could benefit from appointing current interim manager Martin O’Neill to the Celtic Board and that would go some way to satisfy the demand for boardroom changes that are being demanded by the Celtic support via the Celtic Fans Collective and many other smaller shareholders.

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Here’s the argument that Jackson puts forward and for a hack we seldom see eye-to-eye with, this will perhaps be a rather popular plan if Dermot Desmond is thinking along similar lines.

Martin O’Neill to join the Celtic Board? Does that placate people?

“People are demanding change at board level. If Martin O’Neill was to take on some sort of role up the stairs as part of the board, does that placate people? I think it would,” Jackson argues on Daily Record’s Hotline Live.

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

“I think right now there’s an absolute loving for Martin O’Neill amongst the Celtic fans, and understandably so.

“If you were clever about things, if you managed to move people around a little bit and said that Martin was part of the board, then I think right away there’d be real friction at anybody sitting inside the board if Martin O’Neill was part of that board.

“That might not be strategically the worst thing for Celtic. And I wonder if there might be conversations to that end that have to take place this week.

“Because when they announce that Martin O’Neill’s stepping down and they’ve got a new manager, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if there was a secondary part of that announcement – ‘and here’s what Martin’s going to do now’ – which is basically putting a big sort of bomb bunker round the rest of the boardroom for the time being.”

Martin O’Neill, Interim Manager of Celtic, looks on during the Premier Sports Cup Semi Final match between Celtic and theRangers at Hampden Park on November 02, 2025 (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

It seems certain that Wilfried Nancy will arrive at Celtic this week

It seems almost certain, barring last minute hitches – and given it’s Celtic were talking about, nothing should be taken for granted – that Wilfried Nancy will be appointed this week as Celtic’s new head coach and it also is being reported that he has agreed to ‘buy into’ the current recruitment model at the club. We’ll hear more about that from the Frenchman himself when he’s unveiled.

However this will mean that Martin O’Neill’s short stint back in the dugout will come to an end following a debrief on the squad and the work done on St Mirren. O’Neill may also be talking to Nancy about roles for Maloney and Fotheringham.

Then what for Martin. Back to London drink his expensive coffee and chew the fat on talkSport seems likely but Jackson’s idea of bringing Martin onto the board – which incredibly has no actual football people in there – seems like a sensible solution. Hopefully Dermot Desmond is thinking along similar lines.

Martin O’Neill, Interim Manager of Celtic, reacts during the Premier Sports Cup Semi Final match between Celtic and theRangers at Hampden Park on November 02, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)

Celtic Fans Collective

This amid protests from the Celtic Fans Collective aimed currently at non executive directors – and so far Brian Wilson and Tom Allison have been the Collective’s targets with more to follow this week.

Appointing Martin O’Neill to the board would mean that there would be a football man in there when the board meets and that could be invaluable to Nancy as he looks to hit the ground running with an injury ravaged squad. At the weekend Colby Donovan became the latest first team player to be struck down with injury and there are still games remaining for the rest to get through.

Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 2024 Dermot Desmond and Thorbjorn Olesen DEN winners of the team event receiving there silver salvour from Peter Dawson Alfred Dunhill Links Trust after the final round of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 2024 on the Old Course at St. Andrews Golf CLub, Fife, Scotland. 06/10/2024. Picture Fran Caffrey / Golffile.ie

Martin O’Neill has shown he still has so much to offer Celtic

Bringing Martin O’Neill onto the Celtic Board would be popular across the Celtic family and while it would not make all the current discontent go away at least we’d know that someone who knows the game properly is in there influencing decision making.

And as a self-preservation tactic for the Celtic Board, it’s not the worst idea.

Martin O’Neill has shown he still has so much to offer Celtic. This is an idea way for the club to utilise that effectively and it certainly will be a popular move, even amongst the boards biggest critics.

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