O'Neill And Charters Clash Again Over Celtic

Running in tandem with transfer activity/Inactivity at Celtic is a brewing feud between Martin O’Neill and Ronnie Chatters.

While most of the specially invited reporters are happy to play along with the game the STV reporter has a different approach.

Charters is a Celtic fan.

Not of the starry-eyed variety that thinks it is the thrill of a lifetime to be in the company of O’Neill.

Charters has his job to do for STV. He has to leave media conferences with content, preferably more than just the usual predictable sound-bites.

But as a Celtic fan he has a different slant on things.

Chuckling away as O’Neill deflects from club failings with hilarious stories doesn’t do anything for the STV reporter.

He is at the media conference looking for a news angle.

And as any Celtic fan will tell you there are plenty of questions to ask the club. Preferably to Michael Nicholson but with the CEO hiding O’Neill is the only face and voice of Celtic.

O’NEILL THE MEDIA CHARMER

Things got prickly last week as Charters asked about Celtic’s last six failures to qualify for the Champions League.

O’Neill reverted back to a heart-warming tale from Basel 24 years ago which clearly wasn’t the question.

Charters had a follow up question about the repeated failings in recruitment which leaves Celtic as easy prey for LASK, Kairat Almaty, Midtjylland, Ferencvaros, Cluj, AEK Athens, Maribor and Malmo.

All clubs with less than half of the turnover of Celtic. All unseeded and all progressing towards the Champions League as Celtic limp out.

O’Neill now knows that Charters has a bit of edge and substance.

He doesn’t go off chuckling at non-funny stories because they are delivered by a 74-year-old man.

After Celtic’s 3-0 win over Aberdeen transfer business was the main issue of the post-match conference.

Hearing O’Neill discuss how back-up left-back Landon Emenalo was injured and won’t play ‘for a few weeks’ prompted an obvious question.

Was O’Neill confident that his squad was strong enough?

And with that O’Neill was off. After five minutes he was making a sharp exit rather than take follow up questions from someone doing their job.

O’NEILL V CHARTERS WEDNESDAY NIGHT EDITION

4 minutes 40 seconds:

CHARTERS: Are you satisfied, are you confident this you have a strong enough squad?

O’NEILL: One has to be confident. One. Has to be. (Rising to depart) Yeahhhh.

CHARTERS: Ah, but are you?

And at that stage O’Neill made his exit with Celtic cutting coverage of their manager’s media conference.

On the back of their ding-dong on Friday following the Champions League exit last night’s brief exchange grows in significance.

Celtic keep their media partners under control, no-one wants to be left out of the loop to pick up on the controlled soundbites. Tea and biscuits. Sometimes custard creams, sometimes chocolate hob-nobs.

OFF THE RECORD, KIND OF

After the post-LASK questioning Charters touched on what goes on afterwards during Monday’s STV Radio Football Podcast.

47 minutes 30 seconds

CHARTERS: I mentioned it to Martin O’Neil on Friday and got aN inquisitive message from a few people from the club going what’s going on here?

CAMERON: Can I just say your battles with Martin O’Neill so far this season have been great fun. It’s not even a battle but great fun

CHARTERS: On Friday they just been put out and I’m sorry for for how much Martin O’Neill is a legend of the club and how amazing is and build the statue and all that sort of stuff. His answers in press conferences of late have been awful. Awful. The other day I got sent the wording of his reply from Friday.

Charters mentioned the repeated failures to reach the Champions League. The failure to replace Engels and how vulnerable Celtic were to an injury to Kieran Tierney. He followed up when O’Neill referred back to Basel in 2002.

Answering the follow up O’Neill said:

Do you know what, I’m in no position to argue, you know, really, not today, not today. I’m really humble, so, is there such a word as joviality? I don’t know. If it does, it’s not there today.

THE CELTIC DILEMMA

There are a few options available in these situations.

Celtic could add Charters and/or STV to their banned list when it comes to media conferences.

Or they could put pressure on STV to get their reporter to ease back. To ask the softball questions delivered by Radio Clyde, Sky Sports, Press Association and Celtic’s newspaper partners.

Alternatively the club could encourage Charters to cut back with the promise of a senior position inside the inner circle of those fully on message.

On June 5 at 5pm the Daily Record, Sun, Herald and Go Radio all exclusively revealed that Martin O’Neill would be taking the Celtic manager’s job on a one year contract.

On January 11 Celtic made the formal announcement. Reference to silent CEO Nicholson is almost entirely absent among Celtic’s media partners.

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