Stephen Welsh has led the well wishes for Martin O'Neill as the Celtic boss recovers in hospital following a health scare. The Hoops confirmed on Tuesday that the veteran gaffer had undergone a small procedure. O'Neill, 74, is expected to be discharged later this week, although it's not yet known if he'll be fit enough to take charge of Sunday's Premiership trip to Kilmarnock.
Welsh's shock at the news
Welsh worked under the Double-winning legend before sealing his summer move to Swansea City - and admits he was stunned when he heard the news. The ex-Parkhead star told Record Sport: "It came as a shock when I heard the news. I heard through my agent what was going on."
"The whole Celtic family will be extremely worried at this time. He's not normal in the sense that he's 74 and he's still managing one of the biggest clubs in the world. That doesn't really happen. I'm sure he'll be pulling through and he'll be fine and he'll get back in the dugout as soon as possible. I'm sure he'll be okay and I'm sure he'll be raring to go for hopefully another successful season for the boys."
Memories of O'Neill's management
Lifelong fan Welsh, 26, spent most of last season on loan at Motherwell but returned to play for O'Neill during a short stint in January. He said: "His wee one-liners are brilliant in team meetings. He's a great man manager and lets the leaders of the team get on with it in the changing room. If he feels like he's got something to say he'll say it. I'm not sure what he was like towards the end of the season but with the videos in the changing room and pulling out Chelo who created the goals to win us the league, that's a good thing."
"It's very weird as a Celtic fan because he was obviously the manager when my dad was a younger man. Now him ending up managing me must have been a really surreal thing for older Celtic fans to see. But the fact that 23 years later he can come back and do it again kind of says it all."
O'Neill's impact on the team
Welsh was thrilled to see O'Neill return on a permanent basis this summer after working miracles to deliver an incredible league and Scottish Cup Double during his interim spell. He added: "The way he came in and just salvaged the season, it definitely gets undermined. Celtic were in a tough place and even from the outside looking in as a footballer, it didn't look good. There wasn't much cohesion which is the main thing that he brought back. Cohesion within the team and supporters as well."
"I think he understood that's the main thing. You need the fans onside. If you don't have the fans onside you'll never be successful. So that was the main thing. He got the fans back onside and he ended up being successful through it. At a club like this, there's no stopping you."
