MARTIN O’NEILL is yet to commit to managing Celtic in the rebooted Masters Football this summer.
Yet with the fire burning as strong as ever a week out from his 70th birthday, a real return to the dugout is certainly not out of the question.
Away from front-line work since Nottingham Forest sacked the club legend in June 2019, stints on overseas TV networks have helped to fill the void.
But ask O’Neill — who won the European Cup twice under Brian Clough — if he misses the cut and thrust of management, the answer is simple: “Football is in my blood.
“I watch a lot of matches and keep in touch through my TV work.
“Not just the Premier League, but also the Bundesliga in Germany and the Eredivisie in the Netherlands.
“I keep in touch and am well-equipped now, knowing these different leagues. And if an opportunity comes up that I feel fits, I would seriously consider it.”
O’Neill admits that applying for jobs left, right and centre ‘is not the way to go’ for a manager trying to get back in.
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But do not let that fool you into thinking he has given up.
The small matter of Covid makes it seem a lifetime ago that the former Leicester, Celtic, Aston Villa, Sunderland and Republic of Ireland boss was last prowling a touchline.
More than two-and-a-half years have passed since he and assistant Roy Keane, who departed the City Ground a few days before, left Forest. Just a few months later and the ever-enthusiastic Northern Irishman was ready for a new start — his first outside of the UK or Ireland.
But he said: “Covid blighted a lot and for everyone — it took a couple of years out of people’s lives.
“I had the opportunity to manage abroad four or five months after Forest, a really interesting challenge, but Covid had just set in.
“I probably would have taken it, however everything was up in the air, so it was just the wrong time unfortunately.”
O’Neill was speaking as part of the team bringing back the iconic Masters Football after an 11-year absence.
The star-studded six-a-side tournament ran from 2000-2011 and gained a huge cult following before disappearing.
But it is back this July as Manchester United, Liverpool, Rangers and Celtic face off in a four-way battle in Glasgow — before a full series featuring teams from across the country starts next summer.
And O’Neill said: “I really enjoyed it back in the day. One, you wanted to see the old stars play. Two, I just wanted to see what they looked like these days.
“The very fact these retired players got slower and fatter, but could still play the game, that their touch was still there, shows you never lose it.
“I’ve been asked to manage the Celtic team but I’m still not sure.
“However, it is brilliant that it’s coming back to our screens — and I also can’t wait to get back to Glasgow again.
“You simply don’t get any bigger rivalries than between Celtic and Rangers and Manchester United and Liverpool.”
Paul Scholes is expected to turn out for the Red Devils. And you would imagine Roy Keane might now be free, having turned down the chance to return to Sunderland as manager earlier this month.
O’Neill, who was the Black Cats boss from 2011-13, had Keane as his right-hand man at Ireland and Forest. Keane was in charge at the Stadium of Light between 2006-2008.
O’Neill added: “It’s a shame about Roy and Sunderland, it would have been a good fit.
“He has managed clubs successfully before and, from a distance, I thought it was the right thing at the right time.
“I’ve not spoken to him yet, so I don’t know the circumstances. But there is certainly an element of disappointment.
One boss in work O’Neill is feeling sympathy for right now is Leicester’s Brendan Rodgers, who is facing a battle to save his job less than ten months after lifting the FA Cup.
O’Neill led the Foxes from 1995-2000, making him their longest-serving manager since Jimmy Bloomfield in the 1970s.
And he said: “I’m not really wanting to be an apologist for Brendan.
“But because they won the Premier League in 2016, expectations have gone beyond. Everything is judged by them winning the league now. It’s a rather difficult situation, however they’ve been missing a lot of players. He’s done really well there.
“I know it was disappointing to miss out on the Champions League right at the end in the last two seasons — but he’s won the FA Cup.
“These things can happen. And these days, the minute you lose three or four matches, regardless of who you are, people want to put a cloud over you.”
So why, given everything he has already achieved in the game, would O’Neill want to come back into that cut-throat environment?
He said: “There is no such thing as the perfect job — never has been and never will.
“But as I said, football is still in my blood, so let’s see what develops now.”
Masters Football will be shown exclusively on 360SportsTV, a subscription-based platform dedicated to sports documentaries. Costing £2.99p/month, go to www.360sportstelevision.co.uk
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
