Speaking recently on a podcast, Celtic legend Chris Sutton hailed former Hoops manager Martin O’Neill.
Sutton was a guest on the latest episode of the OTB Football podcast, alongside former Celtic player Stiliyan Petrov and current Hoops manager Neil Lennon. They discussed many issues surrounding the Parkhead club and had a few things to say about O’Neill, with Sutton praising the former Bhoys boss.
Sutton was at Parkhead for a little less than six years. He joined the club from Chelsea in the summer of 2000 and stayed in Glasgow until January of 2006, before going on to play for both Aston Villa and Birmingham City (as per Transfermarkt).
Sutton feels that O’Neill has been key to making Celtic what they are today, claiming that the former Hoops boss ‘transformed’ the Parkhead club.
He said: “I thought Kenny Dalglish was an exceptional manager at Blackburn Rovers – very similar to Martin. But I think Celtic are in this position now because of what Martin O’Neill did in the early years. He transformed the club, he understood the club, the values of the club, the people at the club, he got everybody onside. I think it was 21 points, the gap [in] the previous season. To turn it around – which he did in such a short space of time to give the support belief, the players belief – was such an incredible feat.
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“I know there’s been this criticism about Martin as a coach – does he do enough coaching this, that and the other. I can honestly say that there wasn’t ever once where we crossed the white line and didn’t know what our role in the team was. I think Martin had certainly proved himself at Celtic.”
TIF Thoughts…
O’Neill came in as the Celtic manager in the summer of 2001 and after around four years, he left the club in the summer of 2005 and went on to manage Aston Villa (as per Transfermarkt).
He won the Premiership title three times at Parkhead as well as the Scottish Cup three times as well.
This shows that O’Neill certainly deserves credit for his time at Parkhead and it good to see that Sutton holds his contributions in high regard.