The Welsh FA have issued a hands off warning to Celtic amid reports linking their international manager Craig Bellamy with the Celtic job following Brendan Rodgers’ shock resignation just over a week ago…
Welsh FA chief executive Noel Mooney has spoken about the reports linking his national team manager with a move back to Celtic but insists that Bellamy is going nowhere as he is fully focused on getting Wales through to the World Cup finals in Canada, USA and Mexico next summer.
Wales, North Macedonia and Belgium are currently fighting it out for the automatic qualification spot and also the place in the play-offs. Mooney said, as reported by Daily Record: “He’s a year and a bit into the job of a four-year contract and we’re completely focused on going to the World Cup next year.”
Martin O’Neill has come in and steadied the ship at Parkhead after Rodgers suffered back-to-back away defeats in the Scottish Premiership against Dundee at Dens Park and leaders Hearts at Tynecastle.
O’Neill, who managed Celtic for the first five years of the century, took care of Falkirk at Celtic Park on his first game in charge of Celtic for twenty years with an entertaining 4-0 win that set the Premier Sports Cup holders up for the semi-final against theRangers at Hampden at the weekend.
Celtic won that one too, this time by 3-1 to earn O’Neill the chance to lift some silverware, even if his time as interim manager is going to be short. There are increasing calls from within the Celtic support to give Martin along with his former player Shaun Maloney the job on a permanent basis, or at least until the end of the season.
O’Neill and Maloney both emphasised at the ‘welcome back to Celtic’ media conference last Tuesday that they were merely holding the fort and both would go back their previous roles, Maloney as Pathways manager at the club and O’Neill to his punditry work including at talkSport.
However the 73 year old speaking to talkSport yesterday clearly is now in two minds but doesn’t yet dare to dream about Dermot Desmond’s name coming up on his mobile to offer him a longer stay.
O’Neill had this to say when asked if he fancied staying on longer than initially intended: “The very obvious answer would be yes, I would do. But I genuinely don’t know what to expect. When I saw the games they had and then the international break, I thought they’ll have a couple of weeks to think about it.
“I haven’t even spoken to him since that. In a perverse sort of way I’ve enjoyed the two games – but not a lot. I have had no indication, genuinely no indication whatsoever at this minute. None at all.
“I don’t think there’ll be that conversation. I genuinely don’t think that would be the case.”
Yet Dermot Desmond ruffled more that a few feathers among the Celtic support last week, although there was also a sizeable percentage who backed everything he had to say in his take-down of Brendan Rodgers.
O’Neill and Maloney delivered Celtic’s first win over theRangers in 2025 and it was done in some style. It also neutered theRangers tactical masterplan to beat Celtic’s possession based system under Rodgers. Instead they faced a Celtic side on the front foot, hungry to get the ball forward as quickly as possible and in both matches so far the support has loved what they are seeing.
So why not go for more of the same and then review matters at the end of the campaign? Plenty of Celtic supporters would back that and you’d think that if Martin O’Neill wins the two matches before the international break, against FC Midtjylland in the Europa League on Thursday evening and Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership at Celtic Park on Sunday then the clamour to keep Martin in charge is going to be very loud indeed.
Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter, signed copies by Danny McGrain available from celticstarbooks.com
Don’t miss the chance to purchase the late, great Celtic historian David Potter’s final book. All remaining copies have been signed by the legendary Celtic captain Danny McGrain PLUS you’ll also receive a FREE copy of David Potter’s Willie Fernie biography – Putting on the Style, and you’ll only be charged for postage on one book. Order from Celtic Star Books HERE.
Don’t believe Bellamy is to high in the running at present, with the managerial role for ourselves at present imo?
At best, it might be considered at the end of this season, and possibly only an outside chance at best.
Still think the potential of a troubling January window looming, could be a massive factor for when and if a permanent manager is actually going to be named.
Plenty of outcomes available just in the results department looming for ourselves before then.
So wouldn’t class it as a simple decision for any candidate to be making whatsoever, let alone a board who have huge pressure already upon themselves, in getting such a decision right for ourselves in return.