Martin O'Neill appeared yesterday to be on the brink of confirming his move from Leicester City to Celtic. It would now take the sort of 11th-hour change of heart which has, in truth, characterised his career in recent seasons to extend his stay at Filbert Street.
After more than a week of rumour and denial, speculation moved to the verge of becoming hard fact on Saturday when O'Neill officially opened negotiations with Celtic.
Although the Leicester board remains optimistic that O'Neill will remain loyal to the club he has almost single-handedly moved from the hard shoulder into football's fast lane, it would now appear that the 47-year-old Irishman will shortly fulfil his ambition of assuming control at the club he supported throughout his childhood.
O'Neill met with Celtic officials early on Saturday, when he was offered a contract valued at £2 million a year. If he does become Celtic's fifth full-time manager in less than three years, following in the footsteps of Tommy Burns, Wim Jansen, Joseph Venglos and John Barnes, Kenny Dalglish, caretaker manager at Parkhead since Barnes' dismissal three months ago, will probably leave with a handsome pay-off so that O'Neill can be given full control over coaching and player recruitment.
O'Neill has told Celtic that he wishes to bring his own backroom staff with him, something which could present a problem as neither John Robertson, his current assistant manager, nor Steve Walford, Leicester's first-team coach, have in their contracts the sort of escape clause which their manager has now used to his advantage.
If O'Neill does finally sever his Leicester ties after four-and-a-half eventful years, the news of a managerial vacancy in the Premiership will most certainly interest Joe Kinnear, who is expected to announce tomorrow whether he intends to succeed Danny Wilson at Sheffield Wednesday.
Ireland's women's team, despite creating numerous chances, were defeated 4-0 by the Czech Republic in their European championship game in Arklow yesterday.
--(Guardian Service)
