Celtic supervisor Martin O’Neill‘s future on the membership was thrown into doubt earlier than the worldwide break when he mentioned that he must contemplate his place at Parkhead.
The skilled Northern Irish head coach has the backing of the board, although, and appears set to guide the workforce to Fir Park to tackle Motherwell after the break.
After three successive losses and 7 targets conceded within the final three video games, O’Neill must discover a technique to flip the workforce’s kind round within the coming weeks.
The irritating a part of the workforce’s struggles could also be that the supervisor has been put in a tough determination by selections made by earlier managers, together with Brendan Rodgers.
The Celtic place that’s letting O’Neill down essentially the most
Celtic have conceded 15 targets this season and 7 occasions within the final three matches, which reveals that preserving the ball out of their very own internet is their largest drawback in the meanwhile.
The centre-back place has been an issue space for O’Neill, as Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty, and Liam Scales have struggled for kind, and the Hoops boss didn’t signal any of them.
He inherited all of his present centre-back choices and has not had the possibility to signal any senior gamers completely in that place this yr, which has led to some defensive frailties this season.
|
Celtic within the Premiership this season |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Opponent |
xG confronted |
Huge possibilities conceded |
|
Rangers |
1.75 |
3 |
|
St. Johnstone |
0.69 |
1 |
|
St Mirren |
1.95 |
3 |
|
Aberdeen |
0.68 |
1 |
|
Falkirk |
0.57 |
1 |
|
Kilmarnock |
0.98 |
4 |
|
Dundee |
0.49 |
1 |
Celtic have conceded 14 ‘huge possibilities’ of their seven league video games, a mean of two per recreation, and they should tighten up their backline in the event that they wish to enhance their kind within the coming weeks.
O’Neill was not accomplished any favours by selections from earlier managers as a result of the membership bought a centre-back final yr who would now make a distinction on the again at Parkhead.
Why Rodgers made a mistake by promoting £2.2m Celtic star
In the summertime of 2025, Rodgers determined to make a couple of adjustments to his backline by bringing in Jahmai Simpson-Pusey on mortgage and signing Hayato Inamura completely.
Inamura performed one match within the Scottish Premiership for Rodgers and Simpson-Pusey didn’t play a single minute for him earlier than enjoying one recreation below O’Neill, which prompted Manchester Metropolis to recall him in January.
As a part of the swap that led to these two centre-back signings, the previous Liverpool boss determined to promote Gustaf Lagerbielke to Braga on a everlasting deal for £2.2m, after he had spent the 2024/25 marketing campaign on mortgage at FC Twente.
Celtic signed the Sweden worldwide from Elfsborg in the summertime of 2023, however Rodgers solely offered him with seven Premiership appearances earlier than pushing him down the pecking order.
That call was complicated on the time as a result of the Hoops solely conceded one aim in his first 404 minutes on the pitch within the Premiership, preserving 5 clear sheets in his first six video games.
Since leaving Parkhead to signal for Braga, Lagerbielke has made himself undroppable for the Portuguese facet, beginning 31 of his 33 Liga Portugal appearances for the membership.
|
Lagerbielke’s defensive kind in 26/27 |
|
|---|---|
|
Opposition |
Targets conceded |
|
Estoril |
0 |
|
Estrela Amadora |
2 |
|
Alverca |
1 |
|
Vitoria |
0 |
|
Austria Wien |
0 |
|
Austria Wien |
0 |
|
Dinamo Minsk |
0 |
|
Moreirense |
2 |
Within the 2026/27 marketing campaign to this point, Braga have stored 5 clear sheets within the Sweden worldwide’s eight appearances in all competitions, together with within the Convention League.
Lagerbielke gained 11 of his 12 duels and accomplished 91% of his tried passes in his facet’s most up-to-date win over Estoril, preserving a clear sheet in a 1-0 victory in Liga Portugal.
At league degree this season, the Swedish titan has gained 84% of his aerial duels, successful 3.2 per match on common, while Liam Scales, for instance, has solely gained 58% of his aerial contests for Celtic.
Lagerbielke has a behavior of being in groups that not often concede targets, as proven by his kind for the Hoops and now for Braga, and O’Neill might do with a participant who’s as dominant and dependable defensively as him proper now.
In the intervening time, given Celtic’s defensive struggles and his spectacular kind in Portugal, it appears like Rodgers made an enormous mistake when he determined to promote the defender as an alternative of giving him an prolonged run of video games within the workforce to show himself.
Lagerbielke is now fully undroppable at Braga, beginning each league recreation this season, and has been a key a part of a profitable defence for the Portuguese facet, while the Hoops wrestle defensively below O’Neill.
