THE PERFECT CHOICE
O’NEILL: It takes a ‘special’ character to be the boss of Celtic and Henrik, in many ways, is the ideal fit
You must get the crowd on your side right away and someone like Henrik would get that as he was a brilliant player for the club
MARTIN O’NEILL has insisted the next manager of Celtic will have to be a ‘special’ type of character to cope with the demands of the job. Speaking from personal experience after he spent five successful years at the Parkhead helm from 2000 to 2005, the Republic of Ireland boss knows that one day it can be the best job in football and the next it can leave you crushed and in the depths of despair.
O’Neill knows the mentality required to survive in the east end of Glasgow, and highlighted the credentials of the man who would be the fans’ favourite to succeed Neil Lennon.
‘There is a huge level of expectation from the supporters, that’s a given,’ said O’Neill. ‘You must get the crowd on your side right away and someone such as Henrik Larsson would get that because he was a brilliant player for the club. That’s why, in many ways, Henrik is the perfect fit for Celtic.
‘There is also the media attention and you have to try to sort that as best you can. You have to have very good l eadership qualities and enormous strength of character.
‘Overall, the job can be pretty intense and you need to be able to cope with it all, everything that comes with the job both inside and outside of the club. But I’d urge any person to take it if they were lucky enough to be offered it. It’s a thrilling experience.’
O’Neill has no doubt that, whether it’s David Moyes, Roy Keane, Malky Mackay, Jackie McNamara, Oscar Garcia, Owen Coyle or Larsson, the new man in charge will find it tough to better Lennon’s successes. That’s another reason for having to seek that ‘special’ individual.
‘At the very outset, I wondered if Neil would be suited to the Celtic job,’ added O’Neill. ‘But I think Neil has been a brilliant Celtic manager. He will be a hard act to follow.
‘When he took over, he quickly got the passion re-installed into the club and one or two challenges that he faced will have stood him in fantastic stead for his next job.
‘Nobody knows where his next job will be but, if he wants to work in England at a high level, then, if you are asking me if I think he can be successful, my answer is straight to the point — why can’t he be successful?
‘He will now spend time with his family and there is no doubt he will miss the football club. I missed the football club when I left in 2005.
‘For Steve Walford, John Robertson and myself, we felt as though something was missing from our lives when we departed such a massive and fantastic club.’
Lennon had many reasons for leaving. Some of them he has shared with the media and the other, more pertinent, reasons will remain undisclosed, unless you get a private audience and promise to keep the conversation between the four walls you happen to share with him. Of course, the Celtic hierarchy will also have their own private thoughts on their former employee.
For Lennon, though, there was, naturally, a fear of not being able to get through the Champions League qualifiers this summer and, if he failed on that front, holding many of the Celtic fans’ interest would have become an increasingly uphill battle.
It would have left the defending champions going through the motions for much of the next nine months and, in all likelihood, playing to Parkhead crowds of less than 25,000.
Missing out on the £18million European jackpot for Celtic would also have just about killed off any chance Lennon had of attracting attention for a job down south, the working environment he so desperately craves.
O’Neill knows just how satisfying it can be to work in the English Premier League after spells with Leicester City, Aston Villa and Sunderland. He added: ‘There aren’t many bigger football clubs in the land than Celtic. But the overall standard of the game can leave people wanting something better.
‘I can only imagine it must be even more so the case because of the situation Rangers have been in during the past two years.
‘Sure, it leaves a more comfortable route towards League Championship success — and it can also allow you to leave one or two players out of the league games at the weekend, if you have a Champions League game the following midweek.
‘So, I’m sure Neil would have taken everything into account before he made up his mind.
‘He was a great player for me at Leicester and Celtic and it was a pleasure to have him in my team. You knew what you were getting every week and he played solidly for 90 minutes in every game.
‘I’m not surprised that is what he has demanded from the Celtic players in the past four years and it worked well for him.
‘He will look back on his time at Celtic, as a player and manager, with fond memories and rightly so. He worked hard for every medal and deserved success.’