Martin O'Neill would "happily have stayed on" as Celtic manager after his interim spell ended with seven wins out of eight games. The former Northern Ireland player stepped in to replace Brendan Rodgers, who resigned in late October. Wilfried Nancy subsequently took on the job permanently and has lost all three of his opening games in charge.

O'Neill described his near six-week spell back at the club he managed from 2000 to 2005 as "holding the fort for while". However, he said remaining in charge for Sunday's Premier Sports Cup final, which Celtic lost to St Mirren, was not a motivating factor. "Only if asked," he replied on Talksport when asked if he had wanted to lead Celtic out at Hampden. "That was not a driving force. I'd happily have stayed on. "If they had asked me to stay on, I would've done so, but the minute that they said, 'no, that's your time', that's fine by me."

O'Neill, 73, said he had only had a "10 or 15-minute conversation" with the "affable" Nancy as the changeover took place earlier this month. The Frenchman endured home losses to Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts and Europa League opponents Roma before Sunday's 3-1 cup final defeat.

"I stepped into the job, [major shareholder] Dermot [Desmond] had said to me, he said, 'you could be in it two weeks or two months, we're looking for someone',' O'Neill explained. "When you get into it, you really enjoy it. You enjoy winning, that's the point - this is what it's about. "You've got to give managers chances. I think back to my own time at Leicester City, where I eventually enjoyed nice success. Can't win a game to save my life, crowd baying for blood and after 10 games. How lucky I was to win a couple of matches of real importance at a stage. "You've just got to win, you've got to win. You've got to steady it again. There's some excellent players at the football club. There's some boys who have won big time as well. Lean on some of the senior players. Lean on them and get them on your side. "It is recoverable, of course. You're in the football club 10 or 12 days. "You cannot make a judgement on anybody over three games. The matches were difficult. You have got to give a manager some time."

Former Aston Villa boss O'Neill, who oversaw five Scottish Premiership wins, a semi-final defeat of Rangers and a memorable Europa League victory at Feyenoord, felt "reinvigorated" from his "whirlwind time" back in Glasgow. "I was very, very worried about it," he said. "If you fail, you are considered too old for the job and that this is a young man's game. "Thankfully, I don't think I messed it up."

O'Neill feels Celtic "need harmony again" amid unrest between fans and the board. "Celtic disunited are not the Celtic that people should be aware of," he said. And, when asked if his brief return to management had whetted his appetite for another job, his answer was clear: "I would have to say absolutely. "I've never lost the appetite for the game, I've certainly not lost enthusiasm and I've got energy to burn."