Martin O'Neill knows the Celtic bottom line amid growing pressure
Martin O'Neill is well aware that he needs results to keep his Celtic job. It's been a busy week for the veteran boss, who has seemingly been everywhere ahead of Thursday night's all-important Europa League clash.
O'Neill attended a 150-minute Q and A the club held at a Supporters' Club and attended a Celtic B Challenge Cup game across Monday and Tuesday night, all while juggling preparations for what is likely a must-win game for his side against Besiktas.
The Hoops are yet to pick up a single point in Europe, and they are going to need three wins to progress to the next round. There will be just four games remaining after the Besiktas game, which is going to be a big ask for this team, and Marseille are also awaiting within the final fixtures.
For much of the season, Celtic have been close to faultless in the Premiership, which has taken the pressure off the European results just a little, despite obvious fan disappointment, but things have turned.
The Bhoys go into the Besiktas game on the back of a draw and a defeat in the league, so fans are already returning to a concerned state ahead of what will be a mightily difficult challenge.
But as a veteran of the game, O'Neill knows it is all about results and not what he does off the pitch.
“No, my job doesn’t depend on going to meetings like that. My job depends on results. It really does and I cannot forget that," he said in his pre-match press conference.
“That’s the point. No, if I am the manager and the next meeting comes up and time allows, I actually don’t mind going to it, but my job is depending on results.
“I wanted to go to it, I didn’t know about it until the 11th hour, but I just wanted to go down to it and essentially experience what the supporters are feeling and see how we can do something about it.”
O'Neill deserves praise
O'Neill deserves praise for attending the meeting, even if some fans will question whether the time could have been spent with match preperation and the likes.
Too many high-ranking people at the club are ambivalent about what is going on, and it's important for fans to see that O'Neill cares about the issues facing fans, and why results are being received with even more concern than might usually be the case.
