Celtic's Martin O'Neill Faces Criticism After Derby Defeat
Celtic boss Martin O'Neill heads into a pivotal week under scrutiny after a bruising derby defeat at Ibrox, with former striker Cillian Sheridan questioning both his team selection and the number of players who "didn't show up" against Rangers.
The 3-0 loss in the League Cup quarter-final has already sharpened the glare. The manner of it has intensified the debate.
Selection shock as Tounekti starts
Sheridan, speaking on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast, admitted he was taken aback when he saw Sebastian Tounekti named in the starting XI ahead of summer signing Haissem Hassan.
The Algerian winger had to wait until half-time to get on the pitch, by which time Celtic were already chasing shadows in Govan.
"I was surprised that Tounekti started," Sheridan said. "I thought the game was built for Hassan and to see the front three of Hassan, Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran."
For Sheridan, this wasn’t a marginal call. It went to the heart of how Celtic approached one of the defining fixtures of their season. Hassan, brought in with clear attacking pedigree, looked to him like the obvious choice for the intensity and space of an Old Firm tie.
If there were concerns over Hassan’s sharpness, Sheridan argued, they should have been managed differently.
"If there were worries over Hassan's fitness, you start him and give him 60 minutes," he said. "I just knew as soon as the team was announced that that half-time change was coming."
He got exactly that: Hassan introduced at the interval, Tounekti withdrawn, Celtic already in deep trouble.
"Too many players didn't show up"
The selection debate is only one strand of the criticism. Sheridan’s wider concern was the collective no-show in a game that demands personality as much as quality.
"I can imagine personnel changing [on Thursday] because I think there were too many players that didn't show up against Rangers," he said.
This wasn’t framed as a minor blip. It sounded like a warning. At clubs of Celtic’s scale, passive performances in derbies don’t just sting, they stick.
"O'Neill will maybe take a little bit of criticism, probably for his selections and one or two subs he made," Sheridan added.
The word "maybe" feels generous. A 3-0 defeat to Rangers, in a cup quarter-final, with a contentious line-up and visible underperformance across the pitch, guarantees scrutiny. It also guarantees noise.
"At clubs like Celtic and Rangers, as soon as one bad result comes, it's magnified and the season's in crisis."
That is the environment O'Neill knows he works in. One bad afternoon at Ibrox can make a manager’s every decision look like a referendum.
Ferencvaros and Rangers rematch loom
There is no time for Celtic to lick their wounds. Ferencvaros arrive at Celtic Park on Thursday for the Europa League opener, a match that now doubles as a test of O'Neill’s response as much as his team’s.
Sheridan fully expects changes. Not just tweaks, but clear signals that the players who went missing at Ibrox will either be jolted or jettisoned from the immediate plans.
The schedule tightens the screw. Just three days after Ferencvaros, Celtic face a rematch with Rangers in the Scottish Premiership. Same opponent, different competition, same unforgiving spotlight.
One derby defeat has already lit the fuse. The next two games will show whether this was a stumble in September or the first crack in something far more serious.
