Former Celtic defender Charlie Mulgrew believes Martin O’Neill is locked in a “standoff” with the club over his future and has suggested the Hoops boss could be due a significant payoff if he is sacked.
O’Neill admitted he would reflect on his position during the international break after Celtic’s 1-0 Premiership defeat to Rangers completed a bruising run of three successive losses.
The Hoops were also beaten 3-0 by Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup before suffering a 3-1 home defeat to Ferencvaros in their Europa League opener.
Celtic CEO Michael Nicholson has since publicly backed O’Neill, but the 74-year-old has yet to clarify his plans.
Mulgrew believes O’Neill may have preferred to walk away after guiding Celtic to a double last season but feels the contract he received during the summer was his reward for steadying the club.
Speaking on The Breakdown podcast, Mulgrew said: “A lot of Celtic fans that I am meeting are saying that Martin O’Neill should have just rode off into the sunset after Celtic won the double. My take on that is, that’s fair enough, but my opinion is Martin O’Neill would have liked to have done that – like we all would – but his reward would have been a contract. A two year contract, worth X amount.
“If he just walks away and says ‘thanks’, I don’t think he is getting a penny – or he is getting very little – compared to what he is due now. If they got rid of him now it would be close to £1 million he is owed, I would imagine.
“I think the standoff now is Martin O’Neill still thinks he can do the job, and I don’t think Martin O’Neill is leaving with no money. I don’t think Celtic want to pay him. Things aren’t a disaster right now, he has only lost three games – three big games, and that is a disaster at Celtic sometimes – but if you actually take a step back he is still top of the league.
“There is a still a lot that can be done this season. If there is one man that can do it. So my point is, I think he would have liked to have done that [left in the summer], but how do you know back that contract and that money regardless of what age you are?”
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