The peacemaker? Martin O’Neill wants to help end civil war between Celtic board and fans

Martin O’Neill is willing to help mend the rift between disgruntled Celtic supporters and the club’s board.

Back at Parkhead for a second interim spell this season following Wilfried Nancy’s disastrous appointment, the Northern Irishman has been tasked with ensuring the side don’t lose their grip on the Premiership title they’ve won in each of the past four years.

O’Neill has walked back into a fractured situation off the field with fans and the hierarchy at loggerheads since the start of the campaign over the direction the club is taking.

The Celtic Fans Collective, the body representing the views of various supporters’ groups, has called on acting chairman Brian Wilson to sit down with them over fears that anger has reached ‘breaking point’.

The plea comes amid their claim that 142 supporter buses have contacted them over a potential boycott for an upcoming home match.

And with the unrest showing no sign of relenting despite his return to the club on Monday, O’Neill says he’d also be willing to do his bit to try and restore a sense of unity.

There have been a number of protests outside of Celtic Park as fans vent their frustrations

‘Right, do you know what I think? In the longer, shorter term, I wouldn’t mind having a meeting with a group of people just for people airing their grievances and things like this,’ he said.

‘But, listen, I’m a football manager. It’s ridiculous of me and rather obnoxiously ridiculous of me to think that I can resolve a problem.

‘What you can do is, I think, is have a bit of a truce, if that’s the case.

‘I’d love it if the stadium was absolutely just ready to go and ready to support the players through thick and thin because it will be a difficult time.

‘Initially when I came here, first of all, I kind of half-joked about how (Daizen) Maeda or (Reo) Hatate wouldn’t know if that’s the case (ill-feeling). But it does wear you down a bit, you know.

‘So, it would be nice to have people together, but that’s unfair of me to think that I would be able to do anything about it.

‘We’d have to try and win the football matches and that quells things for a little while. That’s all it does.

‘But eventually, eventually, at some stage, whatever comes and goes, the board and supporters will have to come back into unison.’

Celtic face Dundee United on Saturday in what will be O’Neill’s third managerial debut at the club.

With the side now sitting in third place in the Premiership with 18 matches remaining, the 73-year-old believes it could do with a full stadium giving the players its full backing.

‘Of course, I think that’s what we would all like,’ O’Neill added.

‘I get back to the point. We might discuss at a later stage, but at this minute I have to just genuinely focus on trying to win a game or two and that does help.

‘It doesn’t solve the problem, but it might help quell things for a while or calm things down for a while.”

Martin O’Neill admits it would help the club if peace was to break out soon

The Collective was formed in September after a woeful summer transfer window contributed to the side missing out on the Champions League and up to £40million in revenue.

In a lengthy statement which came in response to Wilson’s own call fair unity, the group asked for the interim chair to meet representatives ‘in the spirit of reconciliation’.

‘We are keen to get behind the manager and players, given the importance of the months to come,’ it read.

‘However, it is worth noting that 142 active supporter buses contacted us over the weekend, urging the steering group to call for a boycott of an upcoming home match.

‘Fan anger has reached a breaking point and the underlying causes of this must be addressed.

‘We wish to move towards a period of reconciliation and systemic change, and we call on Brian Wilson to demonstrate that he is serious about building the fan unity he claims to seek.’