Frank McAvennie has now said publicly what plenty of Celtic fans had already started wondering about Reo Hatate and Martin O’Neill.
The former Hoops striker suggested there had been a fallout between the pair during Celtic’s title-winning run.
And it seems Hatate’s reduced role is becoming one of the strangest subplots of the closing weeks of the campaign.
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Frank McAvennie has voiced what Celtic supporters noticed
McAvennie’s comments will inevitably fuel further discussion because Hatate’s role noticeably declined towards the end of the season.
Speaking on the Let Me Be Frank podcast, McAvennie said: “You know, I’m pleased for Martin. I’m really pleased for Martin O’Neill, because he’s come in there, and at 73, he’s been out of the game for such a long time.
“And he’s walked in, there’s obviously Japanese boys, they don’t know who this old guy is, and they’re probably saying, who’s this, he just walked in off the street.
“And that’s what Martin’s done, he’s put his arms around some of them. He got Maeda playing.
“I would have much liked him to get Hatate playing as well, but he fell out with Hatate apparently.
“Something’s happened. But anyway, it’s done. First stage over and they’ve won the league. I was desperate for them to win it, and they did.”
The midfielder was left out of key matches and saw his minutes reduced despite no major injury issue emerging publicly. That naturally led supporters to question whether something behind the scenes had changed.
At the same time, O’Neill never publicly criticised Hatate personally. Most of his comments focused on standards, intensity and competition for places.
The public Celtic evidence still does not point to a complete breakdown
That is why the dressing-room footage after Celtic sealed the title remains important context.
O’Neill was seen embracing Hatate during the celebrations, which does not exactly support the idea of a toxic relationship between the pair.
There may well have been frustration on both sides. Hatate’s performances dipped at times and O’Neill clearly demanded more from him.
But based on everything available publicly, this still looks more like a difficult football relationship than evidence of a serious fallout behind closed doors.
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