Dermot Desmond can’t give him 50 quid and then say, ‘go and win the league!’

Alan McInally is sure Martin O’Neill will have asked for iron-clad assurances about recruitment and money available for next season, before committing to another year at Celtic Park…

The former Republic of Ireland gaffer has agreed to become the Celtic manager permanently, after completing a miracle of sorts in the dugout throughout his two interim spells last season.

Martin’s Domestic Double 

The Kilrea native twice answered the call to save Celtic’s season, when a confluence of issues contrived to make sure we walked away empty handed come May. Thankfully, in typical circumstances – where Martin O’Neill is concerned – he charmed and fought his way to another Domestic Double at Paradise, in a truly remarkable turn of events.

Now having reportedly signed on for one-year, with the option to extend it by one more, McInally is certain assurances will have been sought by a vastly experienced professional, such as O’Neill.

Dermot Desmond can give him 50 quid and then say, ‘go and win the league!’

“I can only assume Martin will be given a decent bag of money to bring in some players,” the former Celtic striker said, as reported by Daily Record. “He should get it. I don’t think Dermot Desmond can give him 50 quid and then say, ‘go and win the league!’ Speaking to Celtic fans, there was a frustration about, maybe not the lack of investment as such, but the lack of investment at the right times or the right kind of spending.

“I don’t know if there was an attitude, ‘we’ve got enough to win the league’. Okay, they did win it eventually. But we could see that is was by no means a certainty and it could have gone either way. I would have thought Martin will have asked for some guarantees because he’ll want to freshen up this squad,”  Rambo continued.

“There will be players leaving and he’ll want to bring in others who are really competitive.”

“There will be players leaving and he’ll want to bring in others who are really competitive. He’ll want to make sure he’s not just challenging for the league – but also in Europe. It doesn’t look like Hearts will be going anywhere and we don’t know how deep the Rangers’ pockets are. You have to think those two will come strong again and Celtic will need to be ready,” the former Celt said in reflection.

“The Champions League was a massive disappointment”

European participation is crucial and the pundit believes expectation must be met next season. “The Champions League was a massive disappointment last year and that’s something Martin will want to address, because that is the stage Celtic have to be on,” McInally asserted. “It will be interesting to see where he wants to strengthen and what he’s able to bring in,” he added.

The key component for unifying the club and for success moving forward is recruitment. If the club support Martin O’Neill and give him the opportunity to sort previous mistakes and get the club on a strong footing again, not just domestically, supporter ire and outrage will subside significantly.

‘Any communication from Celtic is non-existent’

If not, you can be sure another season like last year will unfold, with the club and its supporters at war with each other. At the moment the communication – any communication from Celtic is non-existent.

That includes the Celtic fan media who were told back in October 2025 that the rota was suspended pending a club review. Since then there has been zero contact from the club with any of the fan media outlets.

Best pray these people are listening this time around and the tensions and conflicts from last season can be avoided.

Paul Gillespie

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