Paul Lambert would not be surprised if Martin O’Neill chose to leave Celtic, although the former captain says he would be stunned and unhappy if the club dismissed the manager.
The 74-year-old said he planned to assess the situation during the international break after suffering two consecutive defeats against Rangers.
The two Old Firm losses came before and after a Europa League home defeat to Ferencvaros. Celtic had also endured a dramatic Champions League exit against LASK in August after letting a 4-0 aggregate advantage slip away.
O’Neill said he would review the recent performances. He became permanent manager for the second time during the summer, having guided Celtic to the league title and Scottish Cup across two interim spells last season.
O’Neill, who collected seven more trophies with Celtic between 2000 and 2005 while Lambert was part of the squad, acknowledged that he was fully open to criticism.
He accepted that people were entitled to question whether he could reverse the team’s fortunes and said he needed to consider the wider situation.
Lambert described O’Neill as Celtic’s finest manager since Jock Stein. However, the 57-year-old admitted that a voluntary departure would not surprise him because O’Neill may feel he no longer needs the pressure.
He added that he would be both astonished and disappointed if Celtic decided to remove O’Neill from his position.
Lambert believes the club should allow the manager to make his own decision if stepping down is something he is considering.
He argued that O’Neill’s previous achievements had earned him considerable goodwill, noting that supporters had recently been calling for a statue in his honour and should not suddenly move to the opposite extreme.
According to Lambert, O’Neill should be free to leave on his own terms if that is what he ultimately wants.
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