Celtic boss: I am judged on other things - this is not my main thing
Martin O’Neill has condemned the tennis ball protest by a group of Celtic fans that led to major shareholder Dermot Desmond being escorted from the Old Course in St Andrews during a pro-am golf tournament.
The Celtic manager was referring to an incident where a group of balaclava-clad individuals threw tennis balls onto the 15th green as Desmond was putting during the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.
O’Neill pointed out that Celtic fans were rightly quick to distance themselves from balaclava-wearing Rangers fans who invaded the pitch at Ibrox following a Scottish Cup defeat against Celtic last season, with some visiting fans having already spilled onto the trackside in response to Tomas Cvancara's winning penalty in the shootout.
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has been dismayed by recent events.placeholder image
Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has been dismayed by recent events. | SNS Group
“I don't agree at all with what happened up at St Andrews,” he said. “I don't agree with that at all. I think that it's not Celtic.
“I mean, we derided Rangers in the game for wearing balaclavas. And then suddenly we're doing this stuff. This is not Celtic at all. There are (other) forms of protest.”
The Celtic Fans Collective, a group claiming to represent 23 supporter groups, later shared a video of the episode and released a statement supporting the protest. It included the complaint that Desmond “has essentially been allowed to run Celtic Football Club whilst using his wealth to hide from supporters and accountability".
The Parkhead club released a furious statement of their own, accusing those responsible of bringing shame upon the club. “The club no longer accepts that the Celtic Fans Collective can credibly claim to represent the wider Celtic support,” it added.
Now another fans' organisation, the Green Brigade, have announced plans to boycott Scottish Cup matches in addition to home European ties while complaining of being treated with “utter disdain” by those in control at the club.
Despite intimating he could walk away during the international break following last month’s 1-0 defeat to Rangers, O’Neill remains in charge. He is saddened by the escalation in hostilities between some fans and key club figures but made his stance clear by denouncing the tennis ball protest.
“I came into this situation this time last year and it seems to be going back to that again,” he said.
O’Neill can’t act as Celtic mediator
O'Neill, in his first media appearance since taking time to reflect on his future, also abdicated his self-appointed role as mediator in the on-going war between supporters and the Celtic hierarchy.
Such a lofty ambition is beyond any manager, he stressed. “I suppose the best person to ask is maybe Sir Alex Ferguson about the comings and goings way back where he was asked questions about the Glazers,” he said, with reference to the controversial former Manchester United owners. “So if Sir Alex can’t sort it out then there is not much hope for the rest of us.”
On his second return to the club last season, following Wilfried Nancy’s departure, O'Neill expressed the hope he could bring the warring factions together to some degree. Even then, he accepted it would be “obnoxious” of him to imagine his re-appointment could be a “catalyst” for better relations between the club and disaffected supporters. Now, he stated, he has decided to conserve energy and steer clear of the broiling situation completely.
“I have to,” he said. “Thinking you are in a position, which I am not, to quell something if you don’t win matches…well, I am judged on football matches - that’s why it was a pretty crappy week (before the international break).
“A really, really bad week,” he added. “The other things are not in my control. Please don’t start thinking they are. They are not. I have said it is a situation that I would love to be resolved and it is a really sad situation. Because it is not Celtic. It is not Celtic – and I know things change over the years. But I mentioned Seville – 80, 000 people, no arrests, cheering the team on. That was Celtic.
“And then that moment of euphoria when the final whistle went against Hearts when we win the league from a position of almost no hope, so those are great. The fans were with us.
“If it has gone again I can’t focus on that, honestly,” he continued. “It is not as if I have made my mind up. I can’t control it. I can’t do it. This is not me. I am judged on other things. This is not my main thing. Did I agree on what happened up there (St Andrews)? Not at all. It is not Celtic.”
He was informed about recent podcast comments made by former player Chris Sutton, whom O’Neill signed during his first spell at Celtic. The former striker referred to Celtic as a “cesspit”. Sutton added that the club was currently as “broken” as he could remember it.
He claimed O’Neill’s seeming uncertainty about carrying on concerned him.
“Is that right?” said O’Neill. “Chris is going for it! This is the fella who said he would never be involved in media....
"Chris was a wonderful player for me, I keep saying this. Whatever opinion he has I can’t control it. I have never been able to control the media and I have never been able to control the supporters so I just try to stick with what I can (control).”