Martin O'Neill has revealed he took weeks to decide on staying at Celtic, joking the board told him to make up his mind before Christmas after leading the Hoops to a dramatic Double last season.
The 74-year-old initially answered an SOS call from Dermot Desmond in October after Brendan Rodgers' bombshell exit, then returned again after Wilfried Nancy's disastrous 33-day reign. He steered Celtic to one of the most dramatic league and Scottish Cup Doubles in their history.
Speaking from the club's pre-season training camp in the Algarve, O'Neill said: "Obviously, towards the end of the season, the board, quite rightly, would be looking at somebody younger coming in... I think it was about a week or so, maybe a bit longer to think about it. I think they said, 'You'd better make your mind up before Christmas!'"
Energy and Enthusiasm
O'Neill admitted that if asked the day after the cup final, he would have said no due to exhaustion. "But like everything else then, you think halfway through September time, when you feel as if, 'Oh gosh, I'm all right. Maybe I could have done it.' So it was one of those."
He consulted his family before committing: "I've got a wife and two daughters. The two daughters follow things very, very closely and they said, 'Yeah, absolutely.'"
Pre-Season and Champions League
O'Neill has put his players through double training sessions daily in Portugal, knowing the title defence and Champions League play-off are imminent. "I honestly don't think I've ever paced myself. Unfortunately, football doesn't give you the chance to pace yourself. So I've never done that. It's just going full throttle now."
He stressed the importance of recruitment and the upcoming Champions League play-off: "That's obviously a big game. If you don't win that, you drop into the Europa League... That was a major disappointment."
O'Neill has returned on an initial one-year deal with an option for another 12 months, acknowledging the club may eventually look for a younger manager: "I know I said this last year, but really, when you're thinking about it, they definitely will be looking for somebody much, much younger."
