Martin O’Neill has bought himself time at Celtic with a win against Motherwell amid ongoing pressure on his position.
The Hoops won 2-0 away at Fir Park, with goals from Camilo Duran and Benjamin Nygren putting paid to any suggestions that their poor form could be set to continue.
The manager had faced question marks over his position during the extended international break, when even he confessed he would assess his position at Parkhead.
Former Man United chief scout Mick Brown told Football Insider that Celtic’s return to winnnig ways would have come as a huge relief to O’Neill who is safe in his position for now.
However, there are still concerns bubbling behind the scenes amid a belief that Celtic have struggled to stand up whenever they have been truly tested so far this season.
Celtic remain top of the league, however, and if they can continue to get results from games they expect to win, O’Neill can keep the doubters and calls for his head at bay.
Could Celtic pull the trigger on Martin O’Neill?
Brown told Football Insider on 23 September that Celtic were set to hold talks about O’Neill’s future during the international break amid ongoing calls for his dismissal.
Defeats against Rangers and Ferencvaros sparked major concerns ahead of the break, but after picking up all three points upon their return to domestic action, things have cooled down.
O’Neill is believed to have retained the backing of the board, who hope he will see out the season in his role, and continued positive results will ensure he does so.
“Martin O’Neill has definitely bought himself some time with that victory,” Brown told Football Insider.
“It’s exactly what Celtic needed after the break, they had a bit of time to reset and put that nightmare week behind them, and they knew they had to bounce back quickly.
“I don’t think that pressure on O’Neill is completely gone, obviously Celtic have decided to stick with him and they hope results will improve.
“But it takes more than that to win the fans over, so a 2-0 win away from home is always a good start in that respect, they’re back on track for where they need to be.
“There are plenty of positives to take from that, and they will hope now that they can build on it and put together a run of form.”
How is O’Neill aiming to turn around his fortunes?
Following what was a nightmare run with two defeats against Rangers coming either side of their loss to Ferencvaros, something had to change quickly for Celtic.
The boss had experiemented with tactical tweaks as he aimed to get a handle on their difficult run, but struggled regardless, only sparking more questions about his decisions.
As a result, Football Insider revealed on 5 October that O’Neill was set to revert to his preferred back four against Motherwell in an attempt to establish some consistency.
In the clash at Fir Park, he did just that, and his defensive line performed to a high level and kept a clean sheet despite pre-match nerves for another difficult clash.
Should O’Neill’s new tweak continue to prove successful, it may help him in the long run and help Celtic get back to winning consistently domestically and in Europe.
