Celtic Should Have Asked Martin O’Neill About Next Boss Insists Ex-PL Star | OneFootball

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Former Premier League star Ray Parlour is of the view that the Celtic board should have consulted with club legend Martin O’Neill before appointing new boss Wilfried Nancy.

Nancy, who was appointed as the new Bhoys boss in the first week of December, has lost both of his first two games in charge.

A 2-1 home loss to title rivals Hearts on Sunday followed by a 3-0 defeat against Roma in the Europa League has made it the worst possible start for Nancy; Roma could have won 4-0 had a goal not been ruled out by VAR.

The Celtic job is Nancy’s first stint in European football, having previously only coached in North America, at two MLS sides.

He was backed to succeed in Glasgow by one former star, who compared the Frenchman to popular former boss Ange Postecoglou.

Nancy took over from interim boss and Celtic legend O’Neill, who had steadied the ship after Brendan Rodgers left the club when tensions between the board and the Northern Irishman saw him resign.

In his second managerial stint at Celtic Park, O’Neill had a perfect domestic record, winning all his five games in charge and led Celtic to second in the table before Nancy’s arrival.

One former top flight star credited O’Neill for improving the performances of midfielder Reo Hatate during his time in charge of the Bhoys as caretaker manager and there were eyebrows raised that Celtic did not look to keep him until the end of the season.

Now Parlour has remarked that the Celtic board should have consulted with O’Neill before appointing the new boss, while insisting that the 73-year-old would have stayed on.

“I’m sure Martin would have stayed”, Parlour said on talkSPORT (1:10).

“A guy with so much knowledge, you have got to tap into him and say ‘what is the squad like and what do we need?

“There are probably positions they need to strengthen, I’m sure, but it is disappointing.”

In his first interview with the Bhoys, Nancy highlighted that he knew what was expected of him in the role as Celtic boss.

With the Thursday night defeat against Roma, Celtic are 24th in the Europa League table and could face elimination from the league phase of the competition.

Nancy has a bigger task for now though, with the upcoming Scottish League Cup final against St. Mirren on Sunday at Hampden Park.

Should Celtic lose that game, the board will face even more questions about O’Neill’s early exit.