O'Neill 'would happily have stayed on' at Celtic

"However, he said remaining in charge for Sunday's Premier Sports Cup final, which Celtic lost to St Mirren, was not a motivating factor. "Only if asked," he replied on Talk Sport when asked if he wanted to lead Celtic out at Hampden. "That was not a driving force. I'd happily have stayed on. "If they had asked me to stay on, I would've done so but the minute that they said, 'no, that's your time', that's fine by me."

""When you get into it, you really enjoy it. You enjoy winning, that's the point - this is what it's about. "You've got to give managers chances. I think back to my own time at Leicester City, where I eventually enjoyed nice success. Can't win a game to save my life, crowd baying for blood and after 10 games. How lucky I was to win a couple of matches of real importance at a stage."

Martin O'Neill served a five-and-a-half-week interim spell as Celtic manager, winning seven of eight matches. He would have happily stayed on if asked, but accepted the club's decision to appoint Wilfried Nancy permanently. Wilfried Nancy lost his first three games in charge, including home defeats to Hearts and Roma and a Premier Sports Cup final loss to St Mirren. O'Neill described his role as holding the fort and noted only a brief 10- to 15-minute conversation with Nancy during the changeover. Dermot Desmond indicated the interim could last two weeks or two months. O'Neill emphasized the need to give managers chances and steady the team.

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