Liverpool legend Sir Kenny Dalglish believes Celtic’s board deserves “a whole lot of credit” for appointing Martin O’Neill to stabilize the club’s turbulent season and keep its Premiership title hopes alive
Sir Kenny Dalglish speaks to the press ahead of Rangers vs. Celtic(Image: PLZ Soccer)
Liverpool icon Sir Kenny Dalglish believes the Celtic board deserves “a whole lot of credit” for appointing veteran coach Martin O’Neill to rescue the team’s campaign.
The Hoops are now on their fourth different managerial spell of the season, with O’Neill initially brought in to replace Brendan Rodgers – another former Liverpool manager – and subsequently recalled after Wilfried Nancy’s tenure quickly unravelled.
Dalglish, who played and managed Liverpool after arriving from Celtic during the 1970s, has restored a sense of stability, and last night’s triumph over Aberdeen kept the Glasgow club firmly in contention to defend its Premiership crown.
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This Sunday, Celtic faces Rangers for the second time in a week, this time with a place in the Scottish Cup semifinals at stake.
And speaking to promote Premier Sports’ coverage of that fixture, he believes the Celtic board – which continues to face fierce fan protests – deserves its share of the praise for identifying O’Neill as the man to get their campaign back on track.
Hoops legend Dalglish said: “He’s used to being successful. He was under a good manager at Nottingham Forest with Brian Clough, he must have got a good education there.
Martin O’Neill is trying to salvage Celtic’s season(Image: Getty Images)
“He brought that into Celtic Park and got to a European final when they got beat in Porto. So he’s done a fantastic job any time he’s been there.
“Whoever thought up the idea of Martin coming back in to babysit for a wee while, they deserve a whole lot of credit as well, because he’s done a fantastic job for them.”
Speaking after his team’s 2-1 win against Aberdeen, O’Neill said: “We got off to a great start, scoring very early on, and that was great! I felt as if we didn’t really go and push on, maybe try get a second goal.
“They get back into with the penalty, and then we had to score a really good goal from our viewpoint. Then had to survive to see if it was onside or offside, but it was a big win for us today. A big, big win.
“That’s what you’re hoping for. You are hoping that players can come off the bench and make an impact. Remember, this was our third game in six days. So, that’s every two days we’re playing matches essentially. And that can take its toll.
“So, we have had to use the substitutes in positive ways. All of them have come on in recent times and made big, big impacts, which is great. Sometimes it doesn’t work like that. Sometimes somebody comes on and doesn’t get into the game.
“But it’s nice to know that we think we can make some changes, and maybe something might happen from it.
“I’m obviously delighted. There is a great spirit amongst the players, and I don’t think that should be denied in any aspects because sometimes that is what is keeping us going.”
