Martin O’Neill says he has had ‘time of his life’ after exiting Celtic

Martin O’Neill declared he had enjoyed the “time of his life” after exiting Celtic with a 1-0 victory over Dundee.

The 73-year-old’s interim reign ended with a seventh win in eight games, which drew Celtic level on points with William Hill Premiership leaders Hearts with a game in hand.

Daizen Maeda’s early header earned Celtic a win which ensured O’Neill and Shaun Maloney have wiped out an eight-point deficit since the sudden departure of Brendan Rodgers.

O’Neill, who won seven trophies in a five-year spell from 2000, also leaves new manager Wilfried Nancy in the Premier Sports Cup final and with a solid platform to make progress in the Europa League following last week’s away win against Feyenoord.

Speaking to fans on the Celtic Park pitch following the final whistle, O’Neill said: “These players have been absolutely fantastic and that’s why they are champions. It’s been a privilege to work with them and I have had the time of my life in the past five or six weeks.”

When asked if he had a final message for the Celtic supporters, O’Neill said: “The Celtic supporters? They just need reminding that they are the best in the world.”

Asked in his post-match press conference about having the time of his life, O’Neill said: “It really has, you know, seriously. It’s like a complete blur.

“I was secretly hoping that Easter Road was going to be the last game, so I didn’t want to make a mess of it tonight.

“I thought that we needed a second goal. We just never really got that together and then you start to get nervous a wee bit towards the end. But we won.

“It wasn’t the most flamboyant of victories. But three points on the board keeps it going. How did Hearts do?”

When told they had drawn with Kilmarnock to ensure he had pulled back an eight-point deficit to draw level during his time in charge, O’Neill said: “Honestly? It just shows you.

“So they’ve got a superior goal difference? But we’ve got the game in hand. That’s been brilliant.

“I must admit, even to cut the gap at all during the time would have been decent. But to bring it right back, that was fantastic.”

When asked whether he would take away any souvenirs from his second spell at Celtic, O’Neill said: “Do you know what? I’m going to take the tracksuit. Steven, the kit man, he doesn’t know, but I’m putting this in the bag. Seriously, absolutely. I’m definitely taking this.”

Dundee head coach Steven Pressley had a concern over Clark Robertson’s thigh injury but said: “There was a lot of positives in the performance, especially after going a goal down so early in the game.

“We came here with real intent. I thought we gave Celtic problems at times.

“With a late opportunity when Luke Graham has a header at the back post, we may just have got something from it.”