Celtic fans' worst nightmare to come true as club insider reveals Dermot Desmond's transfer thinking
Martin O'Neill insists Celtic chief Dermot Desmond will back Brendan Rodgers in the transfer market but won't be brow beaten into paying over the odds to finance a second successive summer splurge.
O'Neill spoke out in Desmond's defence with the club's supporters currently questioning whether the Irish tycoon shares Rodgers' ambition to drive up standards heading into the new campaign.
But, while the former boss is adamant that Desmond is equally determined to improve the team, he expressed doubts over the owner's willingness to repeat the £26m recruitment drive which brought Adam Idah, Arne Engles and Auston Trusty to Glasgow's east end 12 months ago.
Those deals saw Rodgers smash the club's transfer record twice in the final hours of the window to complete his summer spree - with Idah and Engles costing a combined sum over more than £20m.
Now Rodgers is looking for more of the same with less than two weeks to get his squad prepared for a Champions League play-off tie against Slovan Bratislava or the Kazakhstanis of Kairat.
And O'Neill dropped a huge hint Desmond may adopt a more cautious approach to this season's spending plans.
Asked if he can assure supporters that Desmond will be setting his sights for Celtic as high as the manager, O'Neill answered: 'Absolutely no question about it. Dermot will have a vision of the football club but as a club owner or as a major shareholder and the person who's making the decisions, he might see going forward in a different light than the manager.
'Seriously, he might not always think that spending £14m or £15m pounds on a player is necessarily the way to go. And we'd have to say that in terms of the dealings in recent times, he might be right.
'Now, I don't know what players Brendan's looking for. He'll be looking to improve the team. And I'm quite sure, honestly, I'm quite sure he'll do that.'
But O'Neill admits the club's anxious fans will want to know if Rodgers plans to stick around beyond the end of a three year deal which runs out at the end of this season.
But he insists Desmond will be backing the boss in a bid to tempt him into penning a new deal. He said: "From the fans' viewpoint, that's something that they would probably like to know as there's a bit of uncertainty around it.
'I don't know Brendan's situation in terms of I have not been speaking to him about that, that is none of my business.
'But I do know the fellow he's dealing with, and that would be Dermot. And I would think from a distance that Dermot would want Brendan to stay at the football club.
'Brendan had a good year last year - excellent getting through in the Champions League. I think he would want to try and push even further to try to make that second group stage.
'So, I can only imagine that there is a mutual understanding between the two of them.
'I would be very surprised if Brendan were to leave. I think Celtic would want him, and if Brendan was saying, 'Oh, I'll just see this one out,'. I would bet it would only be his choice.'
Martin O'Neill was promoting Premier Sports' coverage of Scottish football including over 80 matches from the Scottish Premiership, Premier Sports Cup, Scottish Cup and KDM Evolution Trophy. Fans can watch an entire season of football for only £99 using promo code PSCUP25.
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