Aiden McGeady comments on Martin O’Neill’s position at Celtic
Aiden McGeady has weighed in on Martin O’Neill’s position after the Celtic boss received backing from the club’s chief executive, Michael Nicholson. O’Neill, 74, has come under fire following losses to Rangers in the League Cup and the Scottish Premiership, as well as a home defeat to Ferencvaros in the Europa League, reports BritPanorama.
The Irishman questioned his future after losing to Rangers again, saying, “it might be time to wrap it up.” McGeady, speaking exclusively to NewBettingSites, feels it’s “so early in the season” to be considering O’Neill’s departure.
He added, “It’s funny how the narrative can change after three games. Three, four weeks ago, people were saying the same thing about [Rangers boss] Derek McInnes. So football can change very quickly; in the next two or three games, the narrative could change again in terms of being favourable towards Martin O’Neill and Celtic.” The former Celtic winger noted concerns regarding the manner of the Scottish champions’ recent defeats.
McGeady observed that while Celtic had performed well domestically, the team had struggled in critical matches. He stated, “The alarming thing probably is the manner of the defeats. […] But the worrying thing for me since the start of the season has been the real big games: the European games, the last game away from home, the two Rangers games, and obviously the Ferencvaros game as well. The big games, the team seem to not be able to find a way to win games and have a real impact, and that’s in possession and out of possession.”
Despite the opening defeat in the Europa League to Ferencvaros, McGeady believes Celtic can “go quite far” in the competition. He remarked, “Players are underperforming [but] there is optimism to say Celtic can change it, which of course they can change it, change the narrative of what we said. But they obviously have to do it quickly. And there’s a lot of tough games coming up in Europe.”
Nicholson backed O’Neill despite the squad and fans enduring a “painful” week. He admitted, “the losses in the last week have been painful for us all,” but insisted the club “will now come together and support Martin and the players, as we focus our efforts on achieving success domestically and in the Europa League.” Following the international break, Celtic will travel to face Motherwell before playing Benfica.
The current situation is a reminder of how swiftly fortunes can shift in football. With expectations high and pressure mounting, all eyes will be on Celtic as they seek to turn their season around in the coming weeks.
