Martin O'Neill is ‘raring to go' but Celtic's biggest problem remains unanswered

Martin O'Neill has finally put an end to the uncertainty surrounding his Celtic future. After three straight defeats before the international break, the Celtic boss took time to consider his position and has returned with a clear message for the fans. O'Neill wants to stay. He wants to win the league. And he says he is every bit as determined as he was before Celtic's miserable run of results. That clarity is welcome. The way Celtic got here is harder to understand. What are your thoughts on the Celtic fan protest? Was it the right thing to do? 👀 Martin O'Neill is 'raring to go' again at Celtic Speaking to CelticPlayer, O'Neill made it clear that his period of reflection did not last long. He said: 'Well, I am. I'm extremely prepared now for it. Yes, you're right. We had a difficult week. That can happen. You can lose to your arch-rivals. You can lose a European game. It's certainly not the end of the world as what it seemed to be described as. 'But no, ready to go. Yes, I did think I would take a little bit of time and it didn't take me that much time to think about it. I want to lead the club. I want to try and win the league, which is what we set out to do. MORE CELTIC STORIES 'And yeah, just as determined now as ever before. It was a time of reflection for a moment or two. And I think, yeah, some things that you think about, but overall, yeah, I'm back. I'm raring to go and the team's ready.' That is what Celtic need to hear from their manager. But it also exposes the problem. Why did it ever appear that O'Neill was the one deciding whether he remained Celtic manager? He obviously had every right to decide whether he still wanted the job. Whether Celtic still wanted him in it after his comments was a decision for the club. This did not start with vague comments made after a bad afternoon. Following the 1-0 defeat to Rangers on September 20, O'Neill openly questioned whether he could still help Celtic. He said: 'I will reflect and see. I will. I genuinely will reflect and see. 'It's a matter of whether I can help the team, if that's the case. That's what the manager is supposed to be able to do. And yeah, I will have a look at that this week.' O'Neill then discussed the criticism surrounding his age and admitted 'it might be time to wrap it up'. Those were serious comments. They came after Celtic had lost 3-0 to Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup, 3-1 to Ferencvaros in Europe and then 1-0 to Rangers at Celtic Park. At that point, Celtic should have been carrying out their own assessment. Was O'Neill still the man to win the title? Could he arrest the slide in performances? Was there enough evidence from the dressing room and the wider football operation to keep backing him? Instead, Celtic's position was made public almost immediately. Michael Nicholson backed O'Neill before his future was settled Three days after O'Neill questioned his position, Michael Nicholson publicly backed him. In Celtic's annual results, Nicholson said the club would 'come together and support Martin and the players' as they looked ahead to the challenges still to come. So Celtic had already stated their position while O'Neill was still considering his. That is the part that sits badly. The chief executive had effectively said the manager retained the club's backing before O'Neill himself had confirmed that he wanted to carry on. For a club of Celtic's size, that is a strange position to be in. O'Neill could decide whether he still had the appetite for the job. Celtic had to decide whether he was still the right man for it. Celtic may still have made the right call Keeping O'Neill does not automatically make Celtic's decision wrong. He delivered the league title and Scottish Cup after returning last season and Celtic are still top of the league. Three defeats, however damaging, do not wipe out everything that came before them. Cameron Carter-Vickers also made it clear that the Celtic players remained behind O'Neill while the manager's future was being discussed. There were reasons to give him the chance to respond. But that judgement had to come from Celtic. If Nicholson and the board looked at the results, performances, dressing room and league position and concluded that O'Neill remained the best man to lead the club, then they were entitled to back him. What looked uncomfortable was making that support public while the manager was still wondering aloud whether he could continue. Now O'Neill has now answered that question. He is staying. He is determined. He believes he can win the league. Now Celtic need that conviction to show on the pitch. But this episode should still leave one lesson behind. When a Celtic manager publicly questions whether he can still do the job, the club cannot just wait for him to settle it himself.