Martin O'Neill agrees with Callum McGregor, but why won't he take the easy fix?
Martin O'Neill agrees with captain Callum McGregor that Celtic are being sucked into a 'basketball game' too often this season.
The Bhoys are going well in the league, winning nine of their 11 games so far, but they have struggled in Europe and largely been outclassed. They also lost to Rangers in the cup and league, while they were held to a draw for the first time in the Premiership this season by Dundee United on Wednesday night.
Celtic's main issue seems to be their midfield, but according to midfielder McGregor, a major issue is that strikers like Camilo Durán and Callum Osmand are both playing out wide, and that causes defensive issues.
That, according to the midfielder, is leading to a 'basketball' type feel within games, which was certainly the case on Wenesday night, when the Bhoys pushed a little too hard to find a winner and were regularly caught out at the other end. They were lucky not be punished.
"I've said this to you before, so I totally agree," O'Neill said on McGregor's comments.
"I totally agree that Callum Osmand is actually really a centre forward, I've said this at the press conference, that he is essentially a centre forward, he probably would play off somebody strong alongside him, I'm not so sure that he could lead the line on his own
"And that Camilo Duran is really a centre forward, so the players are getting to know each other, it's as really simple as that there, so I'm in total agreement with Callum."
O'Neill can fix the issue
O'Neill gives the impression that the issue is inevitable because of the options he has, but he has the option to drop Kasper Hogh, who is terrible form, and play Camilo Durán centrally.
That would allow him to play Haissem Hassan or others on the right, and while options are a little limited due to fitness on the left side, that will fix itself within a couple of weeks, when Jota is at full fitness and Yang Hyun-jun has returned. Meanwhile, out-and-out winger Sebastian Tounekti is also an option currently if O'Neill wants to play with a true winger.
The options are there, so if he agrees with McGregor, just fix it. We have sympathised with O'Neill over and over about the lack of good options he has at certain positions, but he does have the options at the top end of the pitch.
