Martin O'Neill insists he’d never have walked away from Celtic if he hadn’t needed to put his family first.
The former Hoops boss revealed only the sack would have seen him leave the club he departed on compassionate grounds to care for his wife Geraldine, who had cancer, in 2005. After gaining legendary status by claiming a treble in his first season, the O’Neill legacy also included the Road to Seville and a UEFA Cup Final loss to Porto two years before exiting the club.
The 71-year-old also insists Ange Postecoglou is showing similar traits of contentment and ambition to stay the course at Parkhead with Sunday’s Scottish Cup semi-final against Rangers another step to a possible domestic treble. He said: “I didn’t jump. I went because of personal reasons. I would’ve stayed here until they bombed me. Sooner or later, you get bombed. Of course I would’ve stayed. If my wife hadn’t taken ill I would’ve stayed here.
“Ange looks to me, from a distance, really happy here. That genuinely means a lot. I came up here in 2000 having left Leicester. I wouldn’t have left Leicester for too many teams even in the Premier League.
“I came up here and of course you have to win. If you are winning then your life is going to be a lot better. I wouldn’t have changed this for anything and his experiences here, I don’t think he’d change. He’s on such a run at the moment, regardless of what happens at the weekend, that I think he’d want to continue.
“There’s a shelf life like anything else but Postecoglou has far from reached it. He’s done superbly and hopefully that continues but yes, I’d have stayed here.”
O’Neill is well aware of some admiring glances towards Postecoglou from a host of chief executives at large Premier League clubs but he’s convinced the Australian’s only focus is on masterminding a credible run in next season’s Champions League.
He said: “Postecoglou is getting a good reputation, he’s highly thought of, not just at Celtic but by a lot of people, hence his name being mentioned all over the place as a consequence of how well he’s doing. His whole demeanour is really good. I’ve met him twice. I met him at a Celtic charity event in London last year. And the game they won the league against Motherwell, I was covering for TV and he came parading round for the interview.
“I’m not speaking for him but I’d be surprised if he did not want to have a real crack at the Champions League next season, to pull Celtic into that sphere. Celtic and Rangers, regardless, are still talked about in England.”
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