Manager’s delight as Celtic maul broken Hearts

Martin O’Neill has been a much criticised figure of late, even more so after Thursday nights 4-1 loss in Lisbon, with he and his players big game temperament called into question.

But the Celtic manager and his players answered that question and more as they cruised to a one, two, three, four, five, six 7-1 win over Hearts in a game that was very much in the must win category for the five-in-a-row Scottish Champions.

A single goal victory would have been enough, as three points are three points, but the style in which the side won and brushed aside last season’s title hopefuls certainly pleased the veteran Irishman. And after such a convincing victory, Martin O’Neill took time to praise his under-fire defence.

Martin O’Neill had this to say at his post-match media conference: “I thought we played really well, really well in the game. Once we got a goal, players got a lot of confidence from that and we carried it on throughout the 90 minutes, so it was a really good performance from us.

“It was nice to win, it was nice to win in the manner in which we did as well – scored some really great goals. We looked really good going forward. Defensively, I thought the back four did exceptionally well.”

Martin also singled out Callum Osmand for praise after the 20 year old added a brace, even though he was playing in an unfamiliar wide position, and was also eager to point out that despite the convincing win, there still a lot of football to be played.

“[Callum Osmand] was really, really good, played very strongly. That’s not really his position at the end of it all, although he adapted brilliantly. He’s a goalscorer.

“Hearts will be still strong. They’ve got some really good players. They’ll still be a big challenge for us and Rangers, obviously. Four points at this stage of the season is absolutely nothing.”