O'Neill talks of break for border

On the eve of what would be Celtic's first domestic treble since 1969 should they beat Hibernian in the Scottish Cup final at Hampden Park today (Sky Sports 1, kick-off 3 p.m.), the fevered speculation regarding whether Martin O'Neill can achieve at Celtic his greatest ambition of emulating his mentor, Brian Clough, by winning the European Cup has taken another twist.

Much of the conjecture connecting O'Neill to Manchester United and a move back to England has centred on the feasibility of O'Neill transforming Celtic into a European force, the theory being that Celtic simply do not earn enough in Scotland for that to happen.

But O'Neill has now addressed the matter from an alternative angle: for the first time he has talked of Celtic leaving Scotland and joining the Premiership in the south. It has been a mainly unspoken aspiration for a long time that Celtic and Rangers could move down to England to fully exploit their undoubted commercial and playing potential, the obvious legal hurdles being the major reason why it has remained a quiet hope rather than a genuinely realisable aim.

But Celtic and Rangers' exploration of the North Atlantic League shows the scale of the Old Firm's willingness to seek a future outside Scotland. Now O'Neill has suggested that he may indeed return to England, but as the manager of a Celtic playing in the Premiership.

Asked if winning the European Cup remained his ultimate ambition, O'Neill replied: "That is exactly right. I still see that as the pinnacle."

Then pressed as to whether he would have to return to England for that to happen, O'Neill answered with a question of his own: "Might it not be possible that in two or three or four years I might be back in English football as manager of Celtic?

"You might say: `Ridiculous', but look at some of the things that have happened in the game recently. You would have said they were ridiculous. As a traditionalist, I would certainly have said they were ridiculous."

O'Neill was referring to the formation of the Premiership 10 years ago and how that transformation was unforeseen at the time. But the power of television money then enabled the breakaway clubs to challenge the Football League, and O'Neill is correct in his assessment that that power has grown in the intervening time.

The problem for Rangers and Celtic is that the television money pie in Scotland is a wafer when compared to the three-storey gateau in England.

"Consider the economics," said O'Neill. "My old club Leicester will make about £20 million (sterling) from television last season. Celtic will get £2.5 million." For the doubters, it again illustrates O'Neill's commitment to Celtic and his desire to make them a competitive club beyond the SPL.

Talk of O'Neill preparing an exit strategy from Celtic 10 months into the job has also been undermined by the letter from O'Neill's solicitor that landed on a lawyer's desk at the Observer on Wednesday.

The front page of last Sunday's edition of the newspaper reported that people representing O'Neill and members of the Manchester United board had met in a hotel in the north of Scotland to discuss O'Neill succeeding Alex Ferguson once Ferguson retires at Old Trafford next June.

O'Neill was furious about the report and for the first time in his career the former Queen's University law student is threatening to sue a newspaper. "For a start I don't even have an agent," O'Neill told the club's weekly magazine, Celtic View.

"I'm perfectly happy at this club and there is an awful lot to look forward to. No one from Manchester United has ever made any sort of contact - official or unofficial - with me about the manager's job, nor have they contacted the board about my position.

"I want to manage this football club. There are many challenges ahead, starting next season when we attempt to qualify for the Champions League."