A first free midweek in a month did not liberate Martin O’Neill from what must feel like a relentless onslaught of problems.
As welcome as it was for the 74-year-old, Sunday’s victory at Ibrox further underscored the issues Celtic face in the final third in terms of creativity and finishing. To win a match without registering a single shot on target takes some doing, and a penalty shootout won’t be an option against Motherwell on Saturday.
‘We have to be a bit more creative,’ said O’Neill. ‘You’ve got to get hold of the ball. You don’t want to be giving it away casually, particularly to Motherwell.’
Easier said than done. While O’Neill rubbished suggestions that Callum McGregor is a long-term injury concern – he should return at Tannadice next weekend – the skipper’s absence will be keenly felt in another must-win game.
Arne Engels is still sidelined, although O’Neill has pencilled in his return for the trip to Dundee in three weeks’ time.
The picture in the middle of the park is perhaps not quite as bleak as the manager feared it would be once the dust settled on last weekend’s clash.
Celtic boss Martin O’Neill wants to see more creativity from his players in front of goal
Paulo Bernardo’s cameo role in Govan suggested he still has a lot to offer his season. Likewise Reo Hatate, who capped another improved display with an ice-cool penalty.
Then there’s Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain. Evidently short of match fitness when hooked at half-time in the first instalment of the double-header, he looked more up to speed when replacing Luke McCowan just before the hour mark. The ex-Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder has benefitted from an uninterrupted week’s work.
While the captain’s loss is a blow as Celtic try to rein in Hearts, O’Neill feels it might be offset by Oxlade-Chamberlain coming to the boil at the right moment.
‘He could easily play Callum’s role, having had that experience. Just getting another week’s training in and getting used to it … we do an awful lot of tactical work here. He’s a very clever player, but he’s having to get used to getting into certain positions that he might not have gone into naturally before. He’s very, very self-critical and he doesn’t have to be.
‘I’ve said to him that, if he never kicks another ball for us, his late goal got us three points when it was just one on the cards against Livingston. I hope he doesn’t take me too literally and say: “Well, I’m just going to down tools now”.
‘But, no, he’s done fine. He found the pace of the game against Rangers the previous Sunday was really hectic and that doesn’t surprise me. He just got lost in the game, hence us taking him off at half-time. But he was still disappointed with himself.’
His calm conversion of Celtic’s first spot-kick at the Copland Road end proved that a prolonged spell out of the game hasn’t affected his nerve.
Coming after James Tavernier struck the cross bar, Oxlade-Chamberlain set the tone for a perfect sequence from 12 yards which took O’Neill’s side into the semi-finals.
Celtic had to rely on a penalty shootout to see off Rangers last weekend after failing to register a shot on target during game
Seeing Auston Trusty, Reo Hatate and Tomas Cvancara also fire beyond Jack Butland spared O’Neill from having to watch Liam Scales take number five through the cracks in his fingers.
‘That was a concern, no question about it,’ he smiled. ‘I scrubbed him from the list twice! I even had Brian Wilson in before him!
‘I said to him: “Would you take a penalty?” and he looked at me as if to say no, then said: “Yeah, I’ll take one”. (It showed) great character. But if it had been the one to decide the game, it might have been a different ball game. It isn’t good for a 74-year-old.’
With McGregor and Kieran Tierney joining a roll call of automatic picks on the sidelines, there was little logic to suggest Celtic would stay in the competition. For the fourth straight away game, they dug in. It wasn’t pretty. but effective. ‘We went in with a side shorn of a couple of really good players,’ said O’Neill. ‘I’m not talking about the long-term injuries we’ve had all season.
‘It was our fourth game in 10 days. So, the longer the game was going on, it became a more defensive job as much as anything else. It wasn’t a case of playing for penalties. Overall, it was a really great effort by the team because we were under pressure.’
Almost lost in the aftermath was the reward. O’Neill will face St Mirren at Hampden. Many believe he should have had the honour in the League Cup final, only for Wilfried Nancy to be ushered in. ‘Hindsight is a great thing,’ he said. ‘I can understand the club at the time thinking it would be hard for a manager just to step in and that be his first game. So, he had to have the week beforehand. I have no complaints today.’
As for today, Motherwell represent a serious threat to Celtic’s hopes of remaining in contention for the title. Their boss Jens Berthel Askou has fused style with substance. So much so that, if O’Neill walks into the sunset this summer, the Dane could scarcely have done more to showcase his credentials as a possible replacement.
Tomas Cvancara fires home the winning spot-kick at Ibrox, but a penalty shootout won’t be an option against Motherwell on Saturday
‘It’s been very impressive indeed. He’s done a really super job’ added the veteran. ‘He’s wanting them to play in a different fashion to the way they’ve played before. They’ve accepted that and thought: “Let’s see how it goes for a while”. Then when you start to win a few matches and play really well, everybody seems on board with it.
‘They’ve got a couple of really good attacking options, too. No surprise the young lad (Tawanda Maswanhise) is leading goalscorer, he’s a really good player. (Ibrahim) Said’s a good player. When you get a couple of little midfield players who really start to shine, then you’ve got something happening for you.’
