{"id":28177,"date":"2026-05-14T19:38:25","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T19:38:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2026\/05\/14\/celtic-legend-could-stay-on-for-2026-27-is-keeping-him-the-right-call-or-a-risky-gamble\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T19:38:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T19:38:25","slug":"celtic-legend-could-stay-on-for-2026-27-is-keeping-him-the-right-call-or-a-risky-gamble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/2026\/05\/14\/celtic-legend-could-stay-on-for-2026-27-is-keeping-him-the-right-call-or-a-risky-gamble\/","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Legend Could Stay On For 2026-27: Is Keeping Him The Right Call Or A Risky Gamble?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Martin O\u2019Neill could stay on as Celtic manager next season, according to former Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness<\/a>, speaking to Football Insider\u2019s Inside Track podcast. The 74-year-old has already pulled Celtic back from the edge this season after the disastrous Wilfried Nancy era. With the Scottish Premiership title still up for grabs, people are talking more and more about what O\u2019Neill will do next.<\/p>\n

Celtic told not to stick with Martin O\u2019Neill<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Wyness, who was CEO at Pittodrie between 2000 and 2004 and later worked at Everton<\/a> and Aston Villa<\/a>, thinks the Celtic board will give O\u2019Neill a real choice about staying or going at the end of the year. Most importantly, Wyness noticed a lot of energy in O\u2019Neill\u2019s recent interviews, which suggests the veteran boss is seriously thinking about staying for another season.<\/p>\n

Celtic are currently just one point behind league leaders Hearts, with a final-day game against them still to play, which means a domestic double is still on the cards. O\u2019Neill\u2019s record this season is 25 wins, three draws, and four losses from 32 games, a record that speaks for itself.<\/p>\n

What Wyness actually said and why the Nancy comparison matters?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Wyness told the podcast that O\u2019Neill sounds like he has a real spark back, and that the manager is looking closely at staying next season, even if his family might want him to retire while he\u2019s ahead. The mention of the Nancy period is important here.<\/p>\n

Celtic\u2019s form fell off a cliff under Nancy, who was the first manager in the modern era to lose his first two games before hitting a rough patch that included a League Cup final loss to St Mirren and a defeat to Rangers; the club\u2019s first run of four losses in a row since 1978. With that in mind, O\u2019Neill\u2019s calm leadership changed the mood at Parkhead almost immediately.<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard O\u2019Neill the other day, and there is a glimmer in his voice that he\u2019s just enjoying this so much right now. I think it\u2019s taken 20 years off his age, and he is thinking about the possibility of next season. Although I\u2019m sure his family and his wife will be saying, no, Martin, you\u2019ve done enough, and he\u2019ll be thinking, \u201d Should I go out at the top?<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s seen the whole Wilfred Nancy episode happen this season. What a huge mistake that was. The Celtic fans will never forget that.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI certainly will never forget what a huge mistake that was to put Wilfred Nancy in at the time Celtic did, when Martin was still doing well with the club. So he\u2019ll have the choice.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Should Celtic actually keep O\u2019Neill beyond this summer, or is sentiment clouding their judgment?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\"Celtic\"
GLASGOW, SCOTLAND \u2013 MAY 10: Celtic manager Martin O\u2019Neil is seen during the Premier League match between Celtic and Rangers at Celtic Park on May 10, 2026 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Celtic should probably avoid the temptation to keep him. O\u2019Neill\u2019s results haven\u2019t always been perfect, with losses to Hibernian and Dundee United early causing some concern. Also, his winter signings were mostly loans and free agents that didn\u2019t really improve the squad.<\/p>\n

At 74, Celtic might find themselves looking for another manager very soon, which would just start the cycle of instability all over again. While everyone loves a legend, the club need a long-term plan and a permanent hire who can build for the 2026-27 season. O\u2019Neill deserves a lot of credit for saving the season, but the best way to honour that is to give him a proper send-off, rather than giving him a job that might eventually hurt his legacy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Martin O\u2019Neill could stay on as Celtic manager next season, according to former Aberdeen chief executive Keith Wyness, speaking to Football Insider\u2019s Inside Track podcast. The 74-year-old has already pulled Celtic back from the edge this season after the disastrous Wilfried Nancy era. With the Scottish Premiership title still up for grabs, people are talking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":13963,"featured_media":28178,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28177","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28177","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/13963"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28177"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28177\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28178"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28177"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28177"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wpinitiate.com\/echo-test\/demo76e71539\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28177"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}