Celtic players not tactically aligned under Martin O’Neill, suggests former Hoops defender

The Hoops have endured an inconsistent start to the campaign, winning just five of their last 12 matches in all competitions, with Sunday’s narrow 1-0 victory over bottom-placed Kilmarnock doing little to ease concerns over their performances.

Speaking on The Breakdown podcast, Mulgrew insisted O’Neill has not lost the dressing room but suggested several senior players may be questioning his approach following their experiences under previous managers.

He said: “I wouldn’t say he’s lost the changing room, because that would indicate that all the players are done with the manager, and I don’t think that’s the case.

“But naturally, when you lose games, and you don’t have good performances, and you’ve won five games out of 12, you start to question things.

“There’s a group of players there, Callum McGregor, Cameron Carter-Vickers, James Forrest and others, that have worked under Ange Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers, who are completely clear on how they wanted to see the team play, how they wanted to press, how they wanted to play in possession, what it looked like, very tactical-minded coaches, who are very clear.

“Martin O’Neill isn’t that guy. I don’t think he’s a tactical manager. Of course he sees the game in certain ways, but I don’t think, in terms of modern tactics, that’s how he looks at the game. So I think naturally when you’re not winning games, players go, ‘oh, this is how Brendan Rodgers used to do it’.

“No doubt about it, Martin O’Neill, at the core of him, he’s a winner. He knows what it takes to get a team over the line.

“But tactically, they don’t look completely aligned, do you know what I mean?”

Despite questioning Celtic’s tactical approach, Mulgrew acknowledged O’Neill’s remarkable ability to deliver results, having guided the club to a domestic double last season.

However, he remains unconvinced that the Hoops can continue relying on narrow victories and moments of individual quality.

He added: “Last year, he steps in, and he wins a double, but you’re like, ‘how has he just done that?’.

“Even in the last game of the season, they go 1-0 down to Hearts and they grind out a result, and it’s an amazing achievement, but I’m like, ‘can he continue to do that?’ And then this year he is continuing to do it.”

Mulgrew also highlighted Celtic’s dependence on Camilo Duran, who has emerged as the club’s top goalscorer this season.

He said: “I don’t know what they’d have done without him this year.”

The former Scotland international also admitted he was not entirely convinced by Celtic’s emphatic 7-1 victory over Hearts last month, suggesting the scoreline masked some of the tactical shortcomings evident throughout the campaign.

“I wasn’t fooled by that, to be honest,” Mulgrew said. “It was a great result, but I just think they were clinical that day. I know that sounds mental, but when you think of a Brendan Rodgers team firing, or an Ange Postecoglou team, if they won 7-0, it was like, they blew them away.

“It’d be non-stop for 90 minutes; teams can’t get out of their half. But that game was a bit of a game of basketball that Celtic won 7-1, if you know what I mean.

“Taking nothing away from that result but I just think Celtic are playing games of basketball, not locking teams in, not keeping them in their half, not battering teams.”

HAVE YOUR SAY – Join the Celtic conversation in our comments section below…

The post Celtic players not tactically aligned under Martin O’Neill, suggests former Hoops defender appeared first on Celtic Shorts.