This Celtic Team Is Going Backwards – O’Neill Has Run Out of Excuses

There are bad defeats.

There are humiliations.

And then there are performances that make you question whether the manager actually understands what is happening in front of him.

Celtic losing 3-0 at Castle Greyskull was the latter.

This wasn’t an unlucky defeat. It wasn’t a game decided by a dodgy refereeing decision or one individual mistake.

We were beaten because they wanted it more.

They were sharper, stronger, more aggressive and more organised. We managed just one shot on target as the game slipped away from us. 

And I’m sorry, but I’m starting to seriously question Martin O’Neill.

Because some of the decisions he made before and during this game were absolutely baffling.

Tounekti starting was mind-blowing

Let’s start with Sebastian Tounekti.

I have already said he isn’t Celtic quality, and this game did absolutely nothing to change my mind.

He constantly passed it backwards when we desperately needed someone to drive it forward.

That’s the difference.

At Celtic, particularly in a game like this, you need players who demand the ball and want to hurt the opposition.

Tounekti looked frightened of making the wrong decision.

And yet Martin O’Neill picked him ahead of Haissem Hassan.

That decision was mind-blowing.

If Tounekti isn’t ready for this level, why is he starting a game like this?

And then there was Sam Johnstone

I’m sorry, but I don’t understand this one either.

Why change the goalkeeper for this game?

Viljami Sinisalo had played well and had already experienced playing at Mordor. O’Neill instead went with Sam Johnstone.

And it simply didn’t work.

The goalkeeper was badly exposed, Celtic looked uncomfortable at the back and the decision to change such an important position for a game of this magnitude now looks incredibly questionable.

O’Neill apparently wanted to give Johnstone the experience of the derby.

That’s not a good enough reason.

You pick the goalkeeper who gives you the best chance of winning the football match.

Not the goalkeeper you want to give a taste of the occasion.

Our midfield is old, tired and running on fumes

This might be the biggest problem of all.

Look at Celtic’s midfield.

As much as I love McGregor, we need to be honest about his limitations.

He cannot play as a defensive midfielder against any team that actually puts up a serious challenge.

We saw it against LASK.

We saw it again today.

When Celtic are dominating a Scottish team sitting deep, McGregor can still dictate the game.

But when the opposition is physical, aggressive and willing to run beyond him, the weaknesses become obvious.

He gets overrun.

The midfield gets stretched.

And suddenly Celtic have no control.

This is exactly why I was screaming for a physical midfielder during the summer.

Gineitis made sense.

A proper defensive midfielder made sense.

Someone who could give this team legs and aggression made sense.

Instead, we’re still relying on the same old core.

And what exactly is Nygren bringing?

Benjamin Nygren is another problem.

Yes, he can score the occasional goal.

But outside those moments, I’m struggling to see what he actually gives this Celtic team.

He doesn’t dominate games.

He doesn’t give us enough physically.

He doesn’t consistently create.

And when we’re under pressure, he isn’t someone I look at and think: give him the ball and he’ll get us out of this.

That’s not good enough.

Especially when the answer from the bench is Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and James Forrest.

Two players who have achieved an enormous amount in their careers, but who should not be the solution to a Celtic team that is crying out for energy and physicality.

And I’ve had enough of the excuses

This is probably the part that annoys me most.

After the game, O’Neill said:

“I’m not so sure it’s always to do with systems. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t.”

And then:

“Hopefully, it’s a wake-up call.”

A wake-up call?

How many wake-up calls do we need?

LASK wasn’t enough?

At some point, you stop calling these things wake-up calls and start accepting that there is a fundamental problem.

O’Neill’s answer can’t constantly be another old-timer one-liner.

We need tactical answers.

We need intensity.

We need fight.

We need a manager who looks at that performance and says: this isn’t acceptable and here’s exactly how I’m going to fix it.

Instead, I’m hearing about systems sometimes mattering and sometimes not.

I’m hearing about waking up.

Well, Martin, we’ve been awake for months.

We’re watching the same problems every week.

And I haven’t even forgotten the decision against LASK to bring on Luke McCowan or Ralston or Tounekti and not Hassan?

When Celtic desperately needed control and quality, that was the answer.

Today, we’re again watching a midfield get overrun and wondering where the solutions are.

They wanted it more. That’s the unforgivable part.

Forget tactics for a minute, formations, and individual players.

Watch that game again and tell me Celtic wanted it more.

They didn’t.

They wanted that game.

Their players ran harder.

They attacked second balls, pressed, competed.

They looked like they understood exactly what the occasion meant.

Celtic looked like a team waiting for something to happen.

That cannot happen in a game like this.