The big question after Celtic win double - will O'Neill stay?

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: Does O'Neill want to stay? And can Celtic afford to let him go? Figure caption, ByKheredine IdessaneBBC Sport Scotland at HampdenPublished44 minutes agoMartin O'Neill was only supposed to be in charge of Celtic for a few weeks in the autumn.

An emergency measure. Yet he ended up doing a double stint across nearly two-thirds of a season. Now the 74-year-old club legend walks away - if indeed he does walk away - with a Premiership and Scottish Cup double which will go down as one of their sweetest, given the circumstances.

The Details

Which all begs two very obvious questions: Can Celtic really afford to let O'Neill leave? And does the man himself want to stay? "If the season was to start tomorrow, I couldn't do it," he told Sport Scotland in the immediate aftermath of the 3-1 victory over Dunfermline Athletic at Hampden.

"But the season doesn't start tomorrow. It does start quickly, though, and I'm getting old. I've done the learning in the last three or four months.

Some tactics I saw befuddled me, but it's good at my age. "In the next week, I'll meet with the owner. He hasn't said anything to me - I don't know whether that's good news or bad news.

What Experts Say

I will have a wee look at it but I would think the club would probably be looking at somebody younger. "It's nice today to think 'I'd love to do that again' but I really do not know whether I could be at it every day. I know I can pass it off as a joke but I genuinely don't know.

"I think I must be in consideration for the job, even though it might only be for a very short time. Even at that, I couldn't do a project. My daughters would be all for it but I'm not sure if my wife would.

"Celtic beat Dunfermline to complete double Was cup final fond farewell for Larssonesque Maeda? Published2 hours agoLatest Celtic news, analysis and fan views Figure caption, 'Maybe next week I'll speak to the owner''I can see him coming back' - what the players saidO'Neill's discussions with Dermot Desmond should be absolutely fascinating. One thing the majority shareholder could do before those talks is take a poll of the Celtic players.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.