It is imperative that the board deliver on their promise after mounting unrest between fans and club threatened to somewhat derail last season.
It also cannot be taken for granted that O’Neill has now shown he can lead Celtic to honours with a squad light on both numbers and quality. He too will be demanding that the squad is strengthened.
Failure to do so would only risk a repeat of last year’s humiliation against Kairat and, therefore, their place at Europe’s top table.
It was Europa League football for Celtic last term, with elimination to Stuttgart in the first knockout round after a 4-1 home defeat was followed by a 1-0 win in Germany.
Although it counted for nothing in terms of progression, that away victory in Stuttgart reaffirmed O’Neill’s European credentials – as did an earlier win at Feyenoord and a draw at Bologna with 10 men.
However, the tracksuit-wearing veteran will want to be doing his dugout air jumps in Uefa’s premier club competition this season.
No Champions League money for a second campaign running could severely impact summer spending towards the end of the window.
Plus, with Maeda gone and Arne Engels linked with a move away, the lure of top-level European football can prove crucial in persuading star players to stay.
It has been more than 20 years since O’Neill managed a Champions League match, or even a qualifier. A two-time European Cup winner with Nottingham Forest, his record as a manager in the competition stands at six wins from 18 matches.
In three qualification attempts for the Champions League, he has been successful twice. There was also a Uefa Cup final appearance in 2003 and he made it to the quarters the following year.
A two-legged play-off, set for 18-19 August and 25-26 August, stands between an older and wiser O’Neill and a return to the pinnacle of club football, where he could flex that European pedigree.
Before then, an intriguing Premiership defence starts with a Monday night encounter at home to Dundee on 3 August and a trip to Kilmarnock the following Sunday.
