INTERVIEW

Celtic's current transfer model compared by Martin O'Neill

GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 06: Martin O'Neill promotes Premier Sports’ coverage of Scottish football including over 80 matches from the Scottish Premiership, Premier Sports Cup, Scottish Cup and KDM Evolution Trophy. Fans can watch an entire season of <i>(Image: SNS Group)</i>
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - AUGUST 06: Martin O'Neill promotes Premier Sports’ coverage of Scottish football including over 80 matches from the Scottish Premiership, Premier Sports Cup, Scottish Cup and KDM Evolution Trophy. Fans can watch an entire season of (Image: SNS Group)
This article is brought to you by our exclusive subscriber partnership with our sister title USA Today, and has been written by our American colleagues. It does not necessarily reflect the view of The Herald.

Former Celtic manager Martin O'Neill insists that nobody should ever question largest shareholder Dermot Desmond's ambitions for Celtic.

However, the 73-year-old reckons that simply getting the chequebook out and splashing the cash isn't necessarily always the answer.

Brendan Rodgers questioned Celtic's ambitions during the Como Cup competition and revealed that in order to progress the club, he needed to be backed in the transfer market by the current board.

Rodgers said: "It depends on what your ambition is. If your ambition is to really progress and push forward, then we need to improve the squad."

However, O'Neill reckons Desmond will have kept a watchful eye on the fact that Rodgers lashed out over £26 million on the likes of Arne Engels, Adam Idah and Auston Trusty in the summer window last season, yet only one of them started the Premiership opener on Flag Day against St Mirren last weekend.

Although O'Neill is convinced that Rodgers will be given some funds by Desmond to bring in reinforcements before September 3.


Read more:


O'Neill said: "Dermot will have a vision of the football club, but as a club owner or as a major shareholder and the person who's making the decisions, then he might see going forward in a different light than the manager. 

"Seriously, he might not always think that spending 14 or 15 million pounds on a player is necessarily the way to go, and we'd have to say that in terms of the dealings in recent times, he might be right. 

"Now, I don't know what players Brendan's looking for. He's looking to improve the team, I'm quite sure of that. They'll have players in. They'll definitely have players in.

"I knew the parameters in which I was working with Dermot when I was the Celtic manager, but I don't honestly ever remember him saying, 'No, I'm not, I'm not having that other player'. Who's to say who is right or who is wrong? 

"Life changes a wee bit, but I did have that free rein, which I enjoyed. Brendan has also earned that right.  The dynamic might be different now in the sense of how the club is run. Dermot may well say that it's run far better now than it was when I was here. 

"The model may have changed since my time in terms of the spending power, but I was never unhappy with the model I worked with. Some people will say no wonder if you're able to get Joos Valegaren for three million.

"The model has definitely changed, but I would have had to find a way to work with that. I'm not that intransigent."

Martin O'Neill was promoting Premier Sports coverage of Scottish football, including over 80 matches from the Scottish Premiership, Premier Sports Cup, Scottish Cup and KDM Evolution Trophy. Fans can watch an entire season of football for only £99 using promo code PSCUP25.

 

Get involved
with the news

Send your news & photos
Loading...