Martin O'Neill remains entranced in one of the most unpredictable Scottish Premiership title races in living memory. But that has not stopped the interim Celtic manager from looking ahead to next season.
Last week, O'Neill hinted that the task of rebuilding a 'top-heavy' Celtic squad looks energy-sapping even for a younger coach. The 74-year-old did not realise the scale of the overhaul at hand.
Indeed, Celtic have six senior players – Luis Palma, Maik Nawrocki, Hayato Inamura, Shin Yamada, Johnny Kenny, and Stephen Welsh – returning from loans this summer.
That, coupled with incoming loans expiring and contracts running out, means Celtic will have 30 first-team players on the books on day one of pre-season.
"In terms of getting other players into the football club, yes, we will have a top-heavy squad come the end of the season or come when people are reporting back," O'Neill admitted.
"I did not realise how big it is."
That said, recruiting players is just as important as clearing the decks in the eyes of the Northern Irishman.
"To bring new people in, you'll have to," O'Neill added. "Absolutely, you couldn't cope with that, you couldn't cope. And that might not be the easiest thing in the world.
"Of course, we've got some players here that other teams in big leagues will probably want. And that's something to consider.
"But if you're talking about players coming back from loans, who maybe have another two years to run, those things might be difficult.
"I suppose the last thing that those players want to do is. having been out on loan, then going back out on loan again.
"Either they want something permanent, or they want to feel as if they could do the job here.
"The answer is I haven't seen those players. So I should really be looking at what they can do. But I honestly haven't had the time at this minute."
O'Neill's Celtic youth ambition
While O'Neill has yet to fully rule himself out of taking the permanent Celtic reins this summer, recent indications point towards a realisation of the substantial assignment that awaits whoever becomes the club's long-term leader.
But if O'Neill were to stick around, he would like to bring more academy prospects through the ranks.
He watched Celtic B defeat a Brentford academy XI 4-0 at Barrowfield last Tuesday.
"Believe it or not, if I were here, I'd like to make room for younger players coming through," O'Neill explained. "I went, myself and Fozzy [assistant coach Mark Fotheringham] went to watch the B team.
"They played Brentford on Tuesday at Barrowfield and some of the younger lads, I know they're not of the age at this minute, they are really impressive.
"It is a balancing act of trying to be strong, still strong, and hopefully that these players can come through in the next couple of years.
"Because that would be lovely, that would be really nice to see young boys who have got the club at heart, who have been maybe in the academies here since they were about 12 or 13, to come through.
"And we've got one or two lads, I know it was against Brentford, it was an under-18, under-19 game. But it was very impressive, both sides.
"So that was really good. I think we should have an eye on that and not stifle young talent coming through, particularly here, because Scottish football needs it."
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O'Neill, though, concedes that things are not entirely simple. While Colby Donovan has broken into the first team this season and registered 27 appearances across all competitions, the teenage right-back's rise to prominence is through coincidence rather than design.
Rocco Vata, Mitchel Frame, Daniel Kelly, Francis Turley, and Sean McArdle have all made senior debuts in the past four years, yet between them, they have only 16 first-team appearances, and three – Vata, Frame, and Kelly – are no longer at the club.
"I do get this because you're under pressure to win," O'Neill said. "That's the point.
"From a distance, you always think you'd like to see people coming through. It was a wee bit like when I was here first, way back, you know, you had some serious players, but you had to win. And Celtic hadn't won for some time.
"So, while we had some young kids that we felt might have been able to [breakthrough], with a bit more nurturing, a bit more time, you didn't have that time. That's the problem here, you don't.
"And while it'd be lovely to take a leaf out of Sir Alex Ferguson's book and say you've got about seven or eight great kids coming through. But he knew that they were great kids anyway.
"So the point I'm making is that you have to win. You have to win at this football club.
“That's the first and foremost and most important thing. But bringing players through is still fundamental. It is, honestly. And it would be nice to have that mixture."
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