Once Martin O’Neill indicated a desire to continue as Celtic manager, it would have taken a remarkably brave board to turn him away.
Nobody with any genuine knowledge of O’Neill was ever fooled by his detached, self-deprecating routine throughout Celtic’s double-winning season.
He carried on as though he was a total bystander, like an old man who had wandered aimlessly into Lennoxtown and been bamboozled by everything he encountered.
O’Neill’s schtick is well worn, but nobody has fallen for it, and at 74 he remains an intelligent mood-setter with a big football brain and a fantastic capacity to connect with footballers.
In reappointing him, Celtic might stand accused of short-termism and a lack of ambition given the absence of any young continental manager in the running.
There is no impressive firebrand arriving to rip things up, and no manager with an extensive grasp on foreign markets as was the case with Ange Postecoglou.
The decision ultimately came down to O’Neill and Robbie Keane, which is not a shortlist that screams extensive worldwide search by any measure.
In the wake of the club’s colossal, and borderline negligent, error in appointing Wilfried Nancy, ignoring a proven winner under your nose is the risk-averse play.
O’Neill cast doubt at the end of last season on his ability to return to the coalface, but his words were never truly convincing given how much he clearly basks in the role.
Dealing with the disconnect between sections of the supporters and a deeply unpopular board was obviously a significant strain on him until the run-in arrived.
The issues that caused the rancour in the first place have not disappeared, and this remains an uneasy truce that could be broken at any time.
He managed his way through all of it regardless, and the steel O’Neill instilled was the thing that got Celtic over the line in both the Premiership and the Scottish Cup.
Appointing O’Neill can only be one part of a bigger jigsaw, with creating a properly functioning and trusted recruitment department every bit as important.
Celtic have struggled significantly in that area, with O’Neill forced to loan in five players last season in Benjamin Arthur, Joel Mvuka, Junior Adamu, Tomas Cvancara, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
Oxlade-Chamberlain contributed two winners and could be considered a success, but the other four loan signings did not work out as intended.
They join a growing list of recent recruitment failures including Shin Yamada, Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Jahmai Simpson-Pusey, Hayato Inamura, and a disappointing return from Sebastian Tounekti.
Of all the players who featured against Hearts on the final day of the league season, nine arrived under Brendan Rodgers and another three were Postecoglou recruits.
So much of the grief surrounding Celtic stems directly from their recruitment, which has become last-minute and scattergun rather than structured and purposeful.
Ending up with the likes of Adamu and Mvuka in January must represent a line in the sand for a club of Celtic’s stature and resources.
They rolled the dice with Nancy and made a dreadful blunder, but now, rather than gambling again on an outsider, they have returned to the safest of safe bets.
