Martin O'Neill doesn't do drama. Never has. The man won seven trophies at Celtic Park the first time around by keeping his cards close and his mouth shut. So when he tells a pundit on live television to back off, you know something's brewing.
The moment that said it all
"Please don't press me, Stephen. Don't press me in that sense."
That was O'Neill, speaking to Stephen Craigan on Premier Sports after Celtic's scrappy 1-0 win at Falkirk last Wednesday. Craigan, the former Motherwell defender turned analyst, had asked the 73-year-old whether the board were truly backing him in the transfer market. A fair question, given Celtic have signed exactly one player this January – Julian Araujo on loan from Bournemouth.
O'Neill's response wasn't hostile. But it wasn't comfortable either. There was steel behind those words. The kind of steel you only show when you're tired of answering the same question, knowing the answer isn't what people want to hear.
A manager caught between two worlds
Here's the thing about O'Neill's return to Celtic: he never planned for any of this. When Brendan Rodgers walked out in October, O'Neill stepped in as a favour. He won seven of eight games. Then came Wilfried Nancy – a coach who lasted 33 days before being shown the door after six defeats in eight matches, including the League Cup final loss to St Mirren and that gut-wrenching 3-1 home defeat to Rangers.
Now O'Neill is back. Again. At 73. And suddenly everyone expects him to rebuild a squad in three weeks while chasing Hearts, who sit six points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
"I thought my time was done here," O'Neill admitted to BBC Scotland. "So I wasn't expecting to pick up the pieces again and look at players."
What O'Neill isn't telling you
The gaffer insists the board have been "very helpful." He says he's watched more players in recent days than he has in a decade. Both things are probably true. But reading between the lines, there's a clear message: don't blame me if nothing happens.
Celtic's targets are well documented. David Datro Fofana at Chelsea. Callum Wilson at West Ham. Franko Kovacevic in Slovenia. Tawanda Maswanhise at Motherwell, whom O'Neill personally scouted last weekend. All strikers. All desperately needed.
Yet here we are, January 18th, with deadline day looming and nothing to show but a full-back.
The Hearts test
Sunday's Scottish Cup win over Auchinleck Talbot – a sixth-tier side – offered little comfort. Johnny Kenny and Sebastian Tounekti eventually got the goals in a 2-0 victory, but Celtic made hard work of it against part-timers at Rugby Park. O'Neill rested most of his first team ahead of the Bologna trip in the Europa League and, more importantly, the title six-pointer at Tynecastle on January 25th.
That Hearts match is massive. Win, and Celtic cut the gap to three points. Lose, and it stretches to nine. O'Neill knows he needs bodies before then. Hence the tension.
The verdict
O'Neill won't criticise Dermot Desmond or the Celtic board publicly. That's not his style. But when a man who's managed in Champions League knockout rounds, who took this club to the 2003 UEFA Cup final against José Mourinho's Porto, tells you to ease off on transfer questions – you'd be wise to listen.
Because if signings don't arrive before Hearts, and Celtic's title challenge collapses, O'Neill will have plenty to say. Just not right now.
The clock is ticking at Parkhead. And the silence from the boardroom is starting to get loud.
