As the March international break gives Celtic a desperate chance to reset, Martin O’Neill faces a massive tactical rethink.
With the season entering its final weeks, it is now a strict do-or-die scenario in the race for Celtic to retain their Premiership crown.
To salvage this chaotic campaign, O’Neill needs to provide a few underused players with a regular chance to prove their worth.
67 Hail Hail has put forward the names of Tomas Cvancara, Paulo Bernardo and James Forrest as the trio that need more regular minutes, and explained why.
Who are you backing?
Paulo Bernardo
Bernardo has been inexplicably underused throughout this entire chaotic campaign. The Portuguese midfielder possesses the exact technical quality required to play alongside Callum McGregor, offering the captain some desperately needed support and control in the middle of the park.
Instead of utilising his obvious composure on the ball, Celtic have trapped Bernardo in a frustrating cycle of starting a single match, only to vanish from the team sheet for weeks at a time.
O’Neill must end this stop-start treatment and finally give him a consistent run.
| Games in the 2025/26 season | Starts | Games started in a row | 90 minutes completed | Total minutes |
| 20 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 634 |
Tomas Cvancara
As a January arrival, Cvancara has undeniably disappointed and cut a frustrated figure at times. However, in this mammoth three-way title race, availability is vital. Unlike Kelechi Iheanacho, at least the imposing striker is fully fit.
When weighing up O’Neill’s limited alternatives, Cvancara is simply a better central option than Junior Adamu, and shifting Daizen Maeda through the middle only blunts his natural threat on the left.
Celtic must start Cvancara on a regular basis, giving him the consistent minutes required to finally find some proper rhythm.
James Forrest
Forrest’s calmness and directness is exactly what Celtic desperately need.
When it comes to the crucial experience required at this breathless stage of the season, nobody knows it better.
Right now, Celtic severely lack bite from the wide areas. Instead of wasting time standing up the full-back, dancing over the ball, and inevitably passing backwards, Forrest will simply get it into the box.
O’Neill urgently needs simple, direct attacking play to salvage this title race, and the veteran guarantees exactly that.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
