Celtic's Europa League Opener: O'Neill Faces Pressure After Derby Defeat
Martin O'Neill will walk into Celtic’s Europa League opener on Thursday knowing the questions are already waiting for him.
A 3-0 derby defeat to Rangers in a League Cup quarter-final would always sting. The way it unfolded at Ibrox has sharpened the focus on his team selection, with former Celtic striker Cillian Sheridan openly challenging some of the calls.
Sheridan, speaking on the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast, did not dress it up. Too many players, he said, “didn't show up” in the derby. In a fixture where careers are often defined, Celtic had passengers.
One decision jarred with him more than any other. Sebastian Tounekti starting on the wing while summer signing Haissem Hassan sat on the bench.
Sheridan admitted he was “shocked” to see Tounekti in the XI ahead of Hassan, who only appeared at half-time with Celtic already chasing the game and Rangers in full control of the tie.
For Sheridan, this was exactly the kind of night Hassan was signed for.
“I thought the game was built for Hassan,” he said, outlining the front line he had expected to see: Hassan, Kasper Hogh and Camilo Duran leading the attack from the first whistle.
If there were concerns about Hassan’s fitness, Sheridan argued, the solution was simple: start him, squeeze 60 minutes out of him, and then make a change if needed. Instead, he watched the line-up drop and felt the script was already written.
“I just knew as soon as the team was announced that that half-time change was coming,” he added. It did. It was nowhere near enough.
The pressure now tightens around O'Neill’s next move. Ferencvaros arrive at Celtic Park on Thursday for the Europa League opener, with another meeting with Rangers in the Premiership looming just three days later. Rotation is inevitable. Indulgence is not.
Sheridan expects the manager to respond.
“I can imagine personnel changing [on Thursday] because I think there were too many players that didn't show up against Rangers,” he said, hinting that the derby no-shows have put their places in immediate jeopardy.
O'Neill, a seasoned figure in the dugout, will also know what comes next. At Celtic and Rangers, one bad result is rarely just one bad result in the eyes of the support. Sheridan summed it up bluntly: as soon as it goes wrong, it is “magnified and the season's in crisis.”
That is the backdrop to Thursday night. A European opener that, on paper, should be a platform now feels like a test of judgment, selection, and nerve. O'Neill cannot change what happened at Ibrox.
He can, and surely will, change who he trusts to put it right.
