Celtic are in their last chance saloon as they chase the Premiership title.
Martin O’Neill, with Shaun Maloney beside him, have pushed and pushed this declining Celtic squad for months and months.
But as Celtic’s defeat to Dundee United before the March international break proved, there is always something going wrong at Parkhead, as Si Ferry questioned those in the dugout.
Their two styles differ, as Charlie Mulgrew told Ferry, ‘Martin O’Neill isn’t to his eights, sixes, inverted fullbacks’, the former centre-back explained, but Maloney is, which led to this response.
“Why appoint that?” questioned Ferry. “Why, if you are a massive club like Celtic? Why have a situation where you have a manager who doesn’t believe the same as his assistant?
“You are going for a league. What other club does that?”
Has O’Neill been soft in his approach since returning to Celtic?
Chris Sutton thinks so!
Were Celtic right to pair Martin O’Neill with Shaun Maloney at Celtic?
The fact is that O’Neill first returned to Celtic in October to help out Dermot Desmond following Brendan Rodgers’ shock and abrupt exit.
As everyone witnessed, it didn’t pan out the way the powers that be at Celtic wanted it to after Wilfried Nancy’s nightmare spell.
Therefore, O’Neill has taken charge of far more games than he should have, but he has still done a better job than those who stood in that very same dugout this season.
But while that has happened, with only two domestic defeats for the Irishman, Celtic’s style of play hasn’t exactly got fans off their seat, as the Open Goal panel discussed.
Paul Slane: “Are you surprised with the style?”
Mulgrew: “Let’s be honest. Martin O’Neill isn’t to his eights, sixes, inverted fullbacks. Any sort of tactics. That’s not Martin O’Neill.
“Now, I am not saying he doesn’t know the game. Martin O’Neill is a man-manager. He gets good players on the pitch. Wherever he has been, he has been the same. He has spent money and got players on the pitch.
“You have Shaun Maloney, who I know is into all that stuff.”
Ferry: “Why appoint that? Why, if you are a massive club like Celtic? Why have a situation where you have a manager who doesn’t believe the same as his assistant? You are going for a league?! What other club does that?”
Mulgrew: “I wouldn’t say he doesn’t believe. Believe isn’t the word. Martin O’Neill, I think, believes in winning football. How he gets there, I don’t think he cares. I think he would like the basics done right, and that’s it. Apart from that, just win the game.”
Andy Halliday: “That’s the opposite of Nancy, no? I am not saying that’s a bad thing. He cared more about how they played and eventually thought that’s how they are going to win.”
Celtic’s record under O’Neill this season
Even with a January transfer window under his belt, and O’Neill didn’t have much time to work, the major issues are still there at Celtic.
Whether that’s new signings not performing, Celtic losing their fear factor, inability to produce a 90-minute performance, or the senior stars letting themselves down again.
There is only so much you can put at O’Neill’s door, because you wonder if the Hoops would be in a far worse situation had he not come in during this abject campaign.
- O’Neill games managed this season: 26
- Wins: 19
- Draws: 3
- Losses: 4
- Goals scored: 57
- Goals conceded: 30
- Points per game: 2.31
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