A look back at Derry man Martin O'Neill's career as he makes sensational return to Celtic

Derry's Martin O'Neill began his second spell in charge of Celtic this week with a comprehensive 4-0 win over Falkirk getting the Bhoys back to winning ways following last week's defeat to league leaders Hearts. 

The damaging defeat which saw the Edinburgh side extend their lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership was the last game in charge for Brendan Rodgers who resigned amid rising tensions with the board. 

O'Neill successfully managed Celtic from 2000-2005 and jumped at the chance when Majority owner Dermot Desmond offered him the position on an interim basis.

The 73-year-old former Republic of Ireland boss will be assisted by his former Celtic player Shaun Maloney as they look to make sure the club is in good shape ahead of the appointment of the next permanent manager. 

O'Neill was born in Kilrea, Derry in 1952 as the sixth on nine children with four brothers and four sisters. He always had a extensive sporting background growing up as his father was a founding member of Padraig Pearce's Kilrea GAA club. 

His two brothers won an Ulster championship with the club in 1958 and Martin followed in their footsteps playing Gaelic Football for Kilrea and Derry's underage teams. He also played in school at St. Columb's College in Derry as well as St. Malachy's college in Belfast. 

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It was his time in Belfast where he was first recognised for his football ability and began to play for Rosario and then Distillery in the Irish League. It was a difficult transition for O'Neill as there was strict rules at that time around playing foreign sports but he thrived scoring twice for Distillery in the 1971 cup final as they beat Derry City 3-0. 

Distillery qualified for Europe the following season where O'Neill scored against Barcelona, his performances drew the attention of scouts in England. In October 1971, he quit his law degree studies in Belfast and signed for Nottingham Forest. 

Forest suffered relegation in his first season but he became a mainstay in the team as they embarked on the greatest era of their history from 1975 following the appointment of Brian Clough.

PICTURED: Martin O'Neill during his time as Republic of Ireland manager alongside assistant Roy Keane

O'Neill was an integral part of the team which won the First Division (1978), two Football League Cups (1978, 1979), FA Charity Shield (1978), European Super Cup (1979) and two European Cups (1979, 1980) capping off a remarkable end to his decade in Nottingham for the man from Derry. 

He was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the New Year's Honours list in 1983 for services to association football. 

O'Neill went on to play for Norwich City, Manchester City and Notts County throughout the early 1980s but never reached the heights he managed with Forest. He also was an important player for Northern Ireland where he played 64 games over a 13-year period. Derry City even tried to sign him in the 1980s but to no avail.

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Following his retirement in 1985, O'Neill had a stint working at an insurance company before turning his attention to football management, taking charge of Grantham Town and Shepshed Charterhouse. 

However, It was his spell in charge of Wycombe Wanderers starting in 1990 where he made his name as a manager, achieving a series of promotions and cup wins in the lower leagues over his five years at the helm before taking charge of his old club Norwich City in 1995. 

His spell in Norwich would only last a matter of months following a disagreement with the chairman and O'Neill joined Leicester City. He gained promotion to the Premier League for the Foxes where he stabilised them as a top-flight team. 

Leicester also won two League Cups (1997, 2000) qualifying for the UEFA Cup as a result of the victories under O'Neill's management during his five years at the helm. 

He joined Celtic in 2000, who lost out on the title to their bitter rivals Rangers in each of the two previous seasons before O'Neill changed their fortunes guiding them to a domestic treble in his first season in charge. 

Celtic reached the UEFA Cup final in 2003 losing in heartbreaking fashion to Jose Mourinho's Porto in extra-time in what was their first European final since 1970. 

O'Neill was promoted to Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to Football in the 2004 New Years Honours. 

His trophy-laden time as Celtic manager where he oversaw one of the most successful periods in the club's history came to an end in 2005 as he left to care for his wife Geraldine who had Lymphoma.

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The Kilrea native returned to football in 2006 with Aston Villa as he guided them to three consecutive 6th place finishes in the Premier League before moving to Sunderland, but couldn't replicate his previous successes in England's North-East.

International football came calling for O'Neill as he accepted the Republic of Ireland job in 2013 where he would be assisted by former Ireland captain Roy Keane. 

They steered Ireland to qualification for Euro 2016 following a play-off victory over Bosnia. Ireland pulled off a famous victory against Italy in their final group game to qualify for the knockout stages where they lost out to the hosts France. 

Ireland have failed to qualify for a major tournament ever since and following his departure from the team in 2018, O'Neill joined his beloved Nottingham Forest but only lasted a short period after some difficult results. 

O'Neill predominantly focused on punditry and media work in the years that followed before accepting the role of Celtic manager this week as the Derry man will be looking to pick up where he left off at Parkhead over two decades later during his interim spell.