Martin O’Neill says Celtic can take confidence from their second-half display in Lisbon, but Sunday’s home match against Hearts has become another major test for the 74-year-old manager after a 4-1 Europa League defeat by Benfica.
The result leaves Celtic without a point from their first two league-phase fixtures and means they have lost four of their past five matches in all competitions. Their latest setback has also increased scrutiny over O’Neill’s position at Parkhead.
Only weeks ago, after defeats by Rangers and in their opening Europa League game, O’Neill said he would consider his future following a gruelling week. He remained in the job and now needs results, beginning against last season’s Scottish Premiership runners-up on Sunday, live on Sky Sports.
O’Neill sees positives in second half
Celtic were 3-0 down after 36 minutes against Benfica, but O’Neill focused on the way his side responded after the interval. Celtic are 34th in the 36-team Europa League table, yet he believes qualification for the knockout stages remains possible.
“The last thing you want to do is concede so early on,” he told TNT Sports. “Then at 2-0 we’ve got a great, great chance to make it 2-1 and within a few minutes they make it 3-0.
“We could have capitulated, but I thought the second-half performance was really terrific. It was a game of two halves. We created chance after chance, we should have scored more goals.
“The second-half performance gives me what I would call the determination, and I think we can still qualify. I know it’s down to six games, but we want to qualify for this competition to get into the knockout stages.
“Overall, I’m really, really delighted with the second-half performance, and it’s a shame that we conceded the three goals first of all.”
Benfica’s finishing proved decisive, while Celtic were vulnerable even when they were not making mistakes themselves. The hosts were awarded a penalty for the opening goal and repeatedly cut through the visitors before half-time.
Celtic struck the frame of the goal in both halves, but Benfica also had opportunities to add to their lead. Although the visitors improved after the break, their situation could hardly have been worse given the early three-goal deficit.
O’Neill’s positive assessment may be intended to lift the players and supporters before Hearts visit Parkhead. Some will welcome that approach, while others will regard the first-half performance as evidence that Celtic must improve quickly.
Defeats in the Champions League qualifier, against Rangers in the Premiership and League Cup, and now in the Europa League have reinforced concerns about Celtic’s record in major matches.
Supporters demand a response
Tino Callaghan, speaking on Sky Sports News for A Celtic Exchange Podcast, said O’Neill’s comments were understandable but did not disguise the extent of Celtic’s problems.
“There are small positives to take from Celtic’s second half, and I think the manager is choosing to accentuate them, which you would expect him to do.
“However, there was so much wrong in the first half in particular, and that’s where the real issues are for Celtic at this moment in time.
“It’s just the fact that at times we weren’t even competing. We were completely outstripped in that first half, and I think that in itself points back to a more general feeling of frustration amongst the fans that we are no longer competing at the top table in Europe.
“Back in the day, we would potentially draw Benfica in the Champions League and fancy our chances of maybe getting something, but we went into that game last night with no real hope.”
Callaghan said he had expected O’Neill to leave after his remarks following the Rangers defeat, but added that the manager now had to turn his decision to stay into results.
“Hearts is massive now on Sunday. A must-win game. Martin O’Neill came out quite strongly, saying that he thinks we still can qualify in the Europa League too. I agree with that, but talk is cheap. You need to start doing it on the park, and that starts again on Sunday.”
Former Celtic player and Sky Sports pundit Chris Sutton, speaking before Celtic beat Motherwell, criticised O’Neill’s public doubts and described the club’s wider situation as increasingly fractured.
“He didn’t get the players he wanted in order to compete at the highest of levels in Europe, so he was let down there. He was undermined by one of his players, Cameron Carter-Vickers, who shouldn’t be coming out publicly and undermining the manager and questioning the tactics.
“It just shows where the club is at. It’s like the Wild West, there are shots fired everywhere. You now have the situation where the Green Brigade are saying ‘we are not going to rock up at European games. We aren’t going to go to the cup games.’
“The split between the top of the club and the supporters, I thought couldn’t get any wider than last year. It does seem now that it is more fractious.”
