‘Not enough money in the world’ - Ex-Celtic boss Gordon Strachan in awe of Martin O’Neill as Parkhead ‘legend’ works towards 75th birthday

That milestone will be reached in March 2027, before the current campaign comes to a close. There is an option in O’Neill’s terms for a 12-month extension to be triggered. It remains to be seen what his future plans are.

Having spent more than six years away from the dugout, European Cup winner O’Neill answered an SOS call from Glasgow in October 2025. He took in eight games as interim boss of the Bhoys.

He returned to the helm, following Wilfried Nancy’s ill-fated 33-day stint at ‘Paradise’, in early January. O’Neill, who spent five years in charge of the Hoops between 2000 and 2005, oversaw a fourth title triumph with Celtic - while also winning the Scottish Cup.

His reward for those endeavours was a full-time contract, with talk of a new man taking the reins quickly being quashed. He remains a lively presence on the touchline, having become famed for his passionate approach to coaching down the years, and is showing no sign of slowing down.

O’Neill continues to embrace the many challenges that an Old Firm boss faces, as they operate under the brightest of spotlights, and seemingly has no intention of severing professional ties with football that have spanned well over 50 years - since his playing career burst into life at Nottingham Forest.

Strachan, who is 69 and enjoyed four years as Celtic manager immediately after O’Neill’s first tenure came to a close, told GOAL - while speaking in association with Grosvenor Sport - when asked if football is not what an evergreen fellow tactician does, it is instead who he is: “He had that break, which helped him a bit, I think.

“But that's him. I think life's not the same without football, for Martin. I think he just likes football people as well, Martin. A bit like that myself, but I have other things I can do in life, and think about.

“Sometimes I see Martin after the game and go, ‘ah, thank goodness I'm not doing this anymore’. But he has a love for the game, he has a love for people as well. He likes people round about him. I think football gives him a lot of things, keeps him ticking over.

“And he has that aura at Celtic - I don't care who you are, once you get to know who he is, then you take it in. Because I think when he first got there, some of the guys from abroad didn't click who he was. And they didn't really get his humour as well to start with, where half the dressing room would be rolling about laughing, because it was clever, and it makes a point at the same time. So I think they went away and did their homework and realised, ‘well, I'm dealing with a bit of a legend here’.

“So I admire what he does, I really do admire what he does. But to be standing in a dugout when people are screaming and shouting, no, I'd rather watch the telly and move on, which I did.

“When they were playing LASK [in the Champions League play-offs], when Celtic scored to make it 4-0, I went over to watch a film with Mrs Strachan. I thought, ‘that's it, finished’. And I switched it back over at the end of the film and there's Martin and Shaun [Maloney], I thought, ‘oh no no, no, no’. I wouldn't, there's not enough money in the world for me to do that.

“So well done, Martin, for your love of the game, He makes football a better place when he's about, it's more interesting.”

Celtic have, amid their remarkable Champions League collapse, taken maximum points from their three opening Scottish Premiership fixtures in 2026-27 - allowing them to occupy top spot in the table. They will be back in action on Wednesday when playing host to Aberdeen.

O’Neill will be in the dugout for that contest, with Strachan watching on from afar, and will believe that he is capable of making more additions to his glittering CV before any thought is given to coaching towards and beyond the age of 76.