It wouldn’t shock me if Martin O’Neill walked away as Celtic boss, says Paul Lambert
Former Celtic captain Paul Lambert insists he would not be surprised if Martin O’Neill stepped down from his position as manager.
O’Neill stated in the aftermath of Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Rangers at Parkhead that he would take time to consider his future during the international break.
The 74-year-old club icon is under intense scrutiny on the back of two successive defeats to Rangers, as well as a Europa League loss to Ferencvaros, over the past week.
O’Neill admitted that he was not immune from criticism, as well as questioning his own ability to turn it around or whether it might be time to ‘wrap it up’.
Lambert played under O’Neill during his first spell as manager back at the turn of the millennium, a period which brought rich success both domestically and in Europe.
The former skipper insists there is no prospect of O’Neill being binned by the club, albeit he would fully understand if his old boss were to walk away.
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‘It wouldn’t surprise me if he left,’ said Lambert. ‘I don’t think he needs it.
‘I would be shocked and disappointed if Celtic sacked him. I think they give him the option, if that’s what’s on his mind, if he did want to walk away.
‘He’s got enough credit in the bank. It wasn’t that long ago people were shouting for a statue for him, so I don’t think you can go from one extreme to the other.
‘If he wants to go, then he goes himself.’
O’Neill returned as interim manager not once but twice last season, after the exits of Brendan Rodgers and Wilfried Nancy, eventually winning a league and cup double.
He signed a deal to remain as manager in the summer but, although Celtic remain top of the league by two points, the club are on the brink of another crisis.
The Champions League humiliation against LASK, where Celtic blew a four-goal lead, set the tone for much of what has followed.
Lambert believes the players ultimately must take responsibility — and he also took aim at Cameron Carter-Vickers.
Carter-Vickers claimed that Celtic’s style of play is ‘too random’ and that they are struggling to follow any sort of script.
‘There was only one person who could rescue Celtic last season and he (O’Neill) did that,’ continued Lambert. ‘I would bet any money that Martin hasn’t changed anything from how he was then.
‘The players need to take responsibility. I watched the game and dear oh dear…
‘That was cringeworthy, the stuff from Carter-Vickers. I thought: “Hang on, you’re not making a movie”.
Former Celtic captain Paul Lambert admits he wouldn’t be surprised if Martin O’Neill left
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‘Solve the problem yourselves. When something is not going right, you look to rectify it, you don’t look to a manager to say “do this or do that”.
‘I thought that was bang out of order, coming from someone who’s been a decent player for Celtic.’
Despite his post-match comments about the team’s struggles, Carter-Vickers insists the players remain fully behind O’Neill despite the mounting pressure on the manager.
‘It’s been a tough week,’ said the defender. ‘But there’s been tough times since I’ve been here and we always somehow find a way to come out the other end of them.
‘All I can say is, as players, we’re behind the manager and behind the management team. What he achieved last year was unbelievable and obviously, as a playing group, we’re grateful to him for that.
‘So we’re still behind him and we’re going to do our best for him. We understand things from the fans’ point of view.
‘It’s hard to put your finger on one thing that’s wrong, but we do have a lot of new players. You can’t take away from the fact that I reflect on when I first signed and there was a lot of new players, we were nowhere near the team we were in the second six months during the second season.
‘Same when Brendan (Rodgers) came back. Again, it was an all-rightish first six months, then we progressed to something that was of a very high level.
‘We’re probably at the start of that process again, so for me it’s just important to be consistent and clear in what you want to do and stick with it.
‘You might not win every game, you might not be perfect, but if you’re consistent you always seem to come out on the other end positively. That’s all the manager’s trying to do.’
