With the Celtic hierarchy so far unable to quell the flames that are licking their boots by delivering the calibre of player Martin O’Neill so clearly needs this month, it would be easy to forget that January isn’t only about arrivals.
As Brendan Rodgers gets his feet under the table at Al Qadsiah, it’s conceivable that the angst currently felt by supporters of the Parkhead club may only increase in this bleak mid-winter.
When the Northern Irishman returned to Glasgow for a second spell in charge in 2023, he joked about the relief he felt that Callum McGregor had rejected the opportunity to join him at Leicester City four years previously.
Rodgers was and is a huge admirer of the Celtic captain. He would like nothing more than for the midfielder to join him in Saudi Arabia. And, until such a time as the 32-year-old says in public that he’s not interested, such speculation will persist.
Back in town for a third spell in the hot-seat, O’Neill spent much of his press conference on Friday explaining why a move for Kyogo Furuhashi won’t now happen – while stressing the importance of players of a similar pedigree coming in without further delay.
In the middle of a season where pretty much everything that could have gone wrong for the club has gone wrong, O’Neill would need his captain departing at the midway point like a hole in the head.
O’Neill has described McGregor as the talisman and ‘driving force’ of the Celtic team
This has been a tough season for McGregor, who has been used to only success at Celtic
‘Not only is he the captain of the side, he’s the talisman, the driving force of the team,’ stated the 73-year-old manager.
‘He’s really important for us. The sort of form he was in during my little spell there, I thought he was terrific. It was epitomised by the goal he scored against St Mirren.
‘But, overall, he was just terrific, and even in games where he wasn’t totally dominant, he was still proper for us.’
With McGregor now in his 12th season at the club and six months shy of his 33rd birthday, perhaps the summer would be a point where it suits all parties to shake hands and move on.
With so many moving parts and so little stability for the squad since the season began, O’Neill is adamant that now is simply not the right time.
‘I haven’t had a chance to speak to him,’ he said. ‘But I would obviously be disappointed if somebody came in at the last minute and whisked him away. I don’t want to see that happening.
“Does the man deserve to make a lot of money? Absolutely. He’s been terrific for the football club and he will live long in the memory after he leaves.’
Regardless of how this season pans out, there might be a part of McGregor that feels like Celtic have had the best of him, and the smart play is to head into the sunset while he is still revered.
It’s understood that Brendan Rodgers would like McGregor to join him in Saudi Arabia, but O’Neill has made it clear he doesn’t want the skipper to leave this January
There have been occasions this season when Kasper Schmeichel might well have wished that he had done the same.
While still capable of some outstanding saves, the irrefutable truth is that more errors have crept into his game.
The year in which he will turn 40 began in inauspicious fashion when Mikey Moore’s saveable shot last Sunday eluded him.
While O’Neill is aware that the Dane’s display made him a target for the boo Bhoys, he appears reluctant to accede to their wishes by bringing in Viljami Sinisalo. Not yet, at least.
‘Kasper’s got a lot of experience, I think he’s a really, really terrific goalkeeper,’ O’Neill offered.
‘Like everything else, you have to keep proving yourself.
‘And this is it. I now, back again, have to do the same thing (prove himself). And it’s not a throwaway line. It’s absolutely true.
‘If I can get Kasper back to what he did for me, and that’s very, very short term, that would be fine.
‘He made some big saves for us, big moments, you know. We had that big save against Rangers in the semi-final, he made a big save at one- each out in Feyenoord when the boy was through.
‘Those are the things he’s good at. I think just getting players back to … that sounds as if it’s been a major change, but really just what they did during my time.’
The fact remains that Wilfried Nancy’s 3-4-3 system was a case of too much information, too soon.
With the players looking confused, they coughed up chance after chance. There were mitigating circumstances behind the slew of goals they conceded.
But O’Neill stressed: ‘Kasper is experienced enough to cope with any kind of system put in front of him. You just take responsibility for your own performance.
‘He has been a class goalkeeper and his father (Peter) would go down as one of the best ever if the world ended tomorrow. He’s one of the top ten to have ever played the game.
McGregor listens to Wilfried Nancy as the ill-fated manager tries to explain his tactics
McGregor has a chat with Shaun Maloney at training ahead of the Dundee United clash
‘I was very lucky because I played with Pat Jennings and Peter Shilton, so I have a warped view of goalkeepers after that. But Kasper has been excellent for me in my time here.’
Without explicitly saying as much, O’Neill looks set to keep faith with the Dane against Dundee United this afternoon.
After such a turbulent time for the club under his predecessor, the smart money is on square pegs being put back in square holes in a 4-3-3 shape and – O’Neill hopes – smiles returning to faces.
‘I don’t want to make too many adjustments and things like that,’ said the Northern Irishman.
‘It will be a bit like when Brendan left, I don’t think we changed that much.
‘There are some things that I think that I would do as a manager that even Brendan wasn’t doing. That doesn’t mean I was right. Brendan had the success, so who’s to say?
‘Just very tiny adjustments. Not to complicate things with the players, so they’re not going on with five or six different instructions on the field.
‘Honestly, as a player, I could never cope with it. Brian Clough, a magician, never gave us new instructions like 24 hours before the game.
‘The things that he preached were real simplicity. So, that’s the way I would go about it.’
A peripheral figure under Nancy despite being one of the side’s better performers earlier in the season, Liam Scales will be expected to resume his partnership with Austin Trusty in central defence.
McGregor is now in his 12th season at Celtic, but who’s to say he won’t move on at end of campaign?
‘I thought Scalesy was great for us. I can only go by what happened in my time. He was brilliant,’ said O’Neill.
‘There is a fair chance he will find himself back in, with a wee bit of luck, unless he’s dreadful again. I thought he was brilliant for us, but everyone to their own.’
With seven wins in eight matches in his interim spell, O’Neill didn’t do too badly either as he held the fort between Rodgers’ departure and Nancy’s arrival.
The reception he will be afforded on his third managerial debut as Parkhead manager should, accordingly, be extremely warm.
‘I am genuinely not bothered about that,’ he stressed. ‘If someone claps for a minute or ten seconds, that’s all it lasts.
‘It will feel strange again, like it did previously. Even more strange because I am back again. It’s daft really, but we have to find a way to win the game.’
