Former Celtic captain Jackie McNamara has backed Martin O’Neill to continue as manager beyond the current season, and his comments are important given how chaotic this campaign has been. Speaking at Hampden as he helped launch next month’s Refugee World Cup, McNamara told reporters he would be “all for it” should his former boss remain in post.
Celtic legend backs O’Neill to stay on and steady the ship
The 2025–26 season saw Celtic go through three managers, Brendan Rodgers, Wilfried Nancy, and O’Neill, who stepped in twice, and yet the club still delivered. At 74, O’Neill is expected to meet Dermot Desmond, Celtic’s largest shareholder, in the coming days to discuss the possibility of remaining in charge next season. McNamara argued that even if O’Neill preferred a boardroom or recruitment role, his presence at the club still makes sense.
He stressed that the managerial noise, which divided supporters and the board earlier in the season, quietened once the focus returned to football and winning. O’Neill himself acknowledged that an ambassadorial role might interest him, though he conceded the board may pursue a younger option given the demands of a Champions League play-off campaign in August. McNamara, per The Scotsman, insisted that whoever leads Celtic next must receive firm commitments on transfer investment and the appointment of a sporting director.
“If he wants to stay another year, I’d be delighted with that. Even if he wanted to go upstairs in some capacity, on the board, in recruitment or whatever. He’s shown how important he is. There was a lot of noise between the fans and the board, and I think that noise has stopped the last few months because the focus was back on the team and on winning.”
Anybody coming in would be looking for that. Martin knows what he needs moving forward to try to get into the Champions League. The recruitment side needs to be sorted with a sporting director coming in, or head of recruitment or whatever title they’ll use. That needs to be done quickly as well, the same with the chairman, so there are a lot of changes coming this summer.
The important bit was that Celtic won the league to give them a chance to make the Champions League because that attracts players to come as well.”
What should Celtic do in this regard?
Celtic‘s recruitment team have begun identifying targets across various markets, though the board are expected to delay major financial commitments until a permanent manager is installed. That delay is precisely the problem. Celtic cannot afford another summer of drift. The midfield sat deeper during the title run-in, moments became messier, and games turned physical rather than controlled; those structural weaknesses will get punished at the Champions League level.
The club should appoint a sporting director immediately, separate from any managerial decisions. Winning two trophies has strengthened the case for O’Neill to remain, and there are already calls for a statue in his honour, but sentiment cannot drive strategy. If O’Neill commits for one more year as a transitional figure while a longer-term successor is identified, Celtic gain stability without surrendering ambition.
Names such as Craig Bellamy and Roberto Martinez have been linked, and the club should run those conversations in parallel now, not after a managerial appointment collapses again. Celtic’s European revenue depends on decisions made this month, and every week of indecision costs them.
