Martin O'Neill has moved to clarify that any thoughts of walking away from Celtic following a difficult run of results were fleeting, insisting his commitment to the club remains strong as he prepares his side for a Premiership trip to Motherwell on Sunday.
The 74-year-old manager, who returned to Celtic Park last season for two interim spells before guiding the club to a domestic double of the league title and Scottish Cup, signed on for a further year in charge. That fresh commitment was tested last month when Celtic suffered three consecutive defeats, including back-to-back losses to fierce rivals Rangers and a heavy 3-1 home reverse against Ferencvaros in the Europa League sandwiched in between.
The run of poor form included Celtic's first domestic league defeat of the campaign, a 1-0 home loss to Rangers, which snapped the club's unbeaten start in the Premiership. O'Neill admitted that in the immediate aftermath of that difficult week, he briefly considered whether his time at the helm should come to an end.
"Obviously, I'm disappointed with the week that we had," O'Neill said, reflecting on the sequence of results. He acknowledged that the setbacks had prompted some soul-searching, but stressed that any doubts were resolved quickly rather than lingering into a prolonged crisis of confidence.
"As long as the football club wanted me, I was happy to do it," he added, making clear where his priorities lie as he continues in the role.
Three weeks have now passed since that defeat to Rangers, and O'Neill has had time to put the disappointment into perspective. He explained that the timing of an international break played a part in allowing him space to think things through, rather than reacting impulsively to a bad run of form.
"Leaving at this particular stage would have been poor," O'Neill said. "Deep down, obviously through the disappointment of losing the games and maybe with the international break coming up at the time, maybe it gave me a little bit of time to reflect."
He went further, suggesting that without that pause in the fixture calendar, his public comments might never have hinted at any uncertainty over his future. "Had there been no international break, I probably wouldn't even have said what I said," he admitted, offering a rare glimpse into how quickly frustration can build during a difficult spell, only to subside once perspective is restored.
O'Neill's remarks suggest that despite the rocky patch, his enthusiasm for managing Celtic has not wavered. Having already delivered silverware in his previous stints at the club, he appears determined to continue building on that success rather than walking away during a challenging moment.
Attention now turns to Sunday's away fixture against Motherwell, where O'Neill will be looking for his side to return to winning ways in the league and put the recent setbacks behind them. The manager's comments this week serve as a reminder that while results can test resolve in the short term, his underlying commitment to Celtic remains firmly intact.
Based on reporting from BBC Sport.