Reports earlier this season suggested that O’Neill was set to quit the club at the end of March.
He said: “Of course I want to stay. Why wouldn’t I? It is a fantastic football club and it has things in place.”
He added: “I am well aware these days, more so than ever before, of how things work.
“Do you deny the story and thereby people say that there is a story in the first place or do you let it run and by letting it run and not denying it you are giving it credibility?
“So that saying ‘damned if you do and damned if you don’t’ is something that comes to mind pretty readily
“I didn’t intend to say anything at all at the dinner but as people were enjoying themselves I did speak. I let the players disappear as I didn’t want to be offending them in any aspect by speaking about them.
“I cannot understand how people can pick up in a totally different aspect from what was actually said.
“I don’t know how many ways there are to answer this question. I have enjoyed the season immensely. It has been very challenging and that has been part of the fun.
“The season in many ways has been exceptional as we have played more games than most clubs.”
