With Martin O’Neill now set to be officially announced tomorrow after a long and “thorough” search for a manager, attention invariably turns to the summer recruitment plans and how we go about fixing a playing squad that managed to limp over the line domestically, with European progress a complete non-starter last term…
The support craves more than anything to mix it up with the big boys and there is another golden ticket to be had in the UEFA Champions League play-offs this August, IF we get our act together and try and behave like a semi-coherent football club.
Easier said than done, mind you, with a Chief Executive who appears to be full of air and is worked from the principal shareholder’s foot and a pump.
We all know the score…
Regardless of whether or not we get a proper footballing structure in place to support the manager and his backroom staff, we will still be undergoing a summer of radical change in terms of player turnover.
Celtic legend, Tom Boyd, sees a massive overhaul of the playing squad incoming, after Martin O’Neill was given the job on a short-term contract, with the option of a further year – if he’s still fit enough, that is.
Speaking on the appointment of his former gaffer and solid gold legend O’Neill, the Treble winner said: “I’m absolutely delighted, it was the very sensible choice and Martin earned it. He deserved it, if he wanted it. It was Martin’s choice so that’s outstanding that there is that bit of continuation. But there is going to be a complete overhaul for players who will be leaving and players coming in.”
O’Neill’s ex-captain in his first season in Glasgow back in 2000/01, is sure that his old boss will no doubt have targets in mind, after confirming his place in the Parkhead hot-seat this coming season. “They will know what they have wanted to identify and what players they want coming in,” Boyd said to Sky Sports. “It’s just the process now of trying to get these players that the management will be looking at.”
This summer recruitment drive is going to the most crucial and important for some years now. Many even argue that this current undertaking is heavier lifting than the rebuild Ange Postecoglou did such a good job of in 2021, with some of his stars still doing a job for the club and likely to earn us some money to reinvest once more in the team.
It’s do-or-die time for a Celtic Board that has clearly run its course…
