Martin O’Neill challenges Reo Hatate in an old-school way to become a key Celtic asset again

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Reo Hatate played his best football of the season as Celtic came from 2-0 down to secure a point against Rangers on Sunday at Ibrox.

But Martin O’Neill has laid down the gauntlet and told the player, ‘Reo has to get the best out of himself’ if he wants to recapture his old form.

Speaking ahead of Celtic’s trip to Aberdeen for the rearranged Premiership fixture on Wednesday night, O’Neill was pretty blunt with Hatate.

“Reo has to get the best out of himself,” said O’Neill. “That’s the most important thing. If you had been asking that question to any of my managers about me as a player, hmmm, they would have stared right through you. It’s up to him, as a player.”

It’s great to see that O’Neill isn’t mincing his words and getting straight to the point, because the Japanese maestro needs some tough love at Celtic, and he is getting it now.

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Martin O’Neill says Reo Hatate has been a ‘really fine footballer’ at Celtic

Everyone has seen Hatate turn it on at Ibrox; the million-dollar question is whether he can produce consistently from now until the end of the season.

So far, this campaign has suggested no, but perhaps the way O’Neill is going about things will result in Hatate becoming the ‘really fine footballer’ he has become since being at Parkhead.

“Reo has to get the best out of himself,” said O’Neill. “That’s the most important thing. If you had been asking that question to any of my managers about me as a player, hmmm, they would have stared right through you. It’s up to him, as a player.

“This is it. Reo has been a really fine footballer here, and it’s been a tough old season for him. It’s been a tough old season for the football club.

“If he could maintain that form, then he can be an asset to us.”

Why Hatate wouldn’t fail at Celtic under O’Neill

Whatever the situation is with Hatate, whether he wanted to leave or not last summer, he can’t argue that he isn’t being backed from behind the four walls of Lennoxtown.

If he continues to look uninterested, then it’s all on him, because as O’Neill touched upon, he is getting one thing in bucket loads from the staff and the players behind the scenes.

“In terms of encouragement here, which is something we can give him, absolutely, he gets all the encouragement in the world from us,” added O’Neill.

“So, he wouldn’t be on that score that he would fail.”