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Figure caption,'Elated, delighted, relieved' - O'Neill on Celtic's thrashing of Hearts
ByKheredine IdessaneBBC Sport Scotland at Celtic Park- Published33 minutes ago
With ongoing supporter discontent, a recent tennis ball protest against the major shareholder on a golf course and a veteran manager deciding now is not the time to "wrap things up", as Martin O'Neill put it, you'd be forgiven for scratching your head when examining Celtic's current domestic situation.
They sit four points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership. Five, really, if you factor in a goal difference at present 12 better than nearest challengers Rangers.
All this off the back of a 7-1 demolition of last season's runners-up, Hearts, who - at least until they turned up at Celtic Park - were widely viewed as viable title contenders if there's to be another three-way fight for Scottish football's main prize.
Has normal service been restored in the east end of Glasgow after the wobbles of four significant defeats in their past half-dozen? Not as far as their wily old manager is concerned.
Keen to stress that the road is yet long to the division's ultimate destination, O'Neill was full of smiles after his side's biggest win since he returned last year, but he didn't even accept that such a thrashing of the third-placed side in the division was even a 'statement' victory.
"I'm not really sure about that," O'Neill told BBC Scotland.
"We're eight or nine games into the season or whatever it is.
"It was nice to win and win in the manner we did as well. We scored some really great goals. We looked really good going forward and I thought, defensively, the back four did really well for us when we were under pressure.
"But I think they were helped by the players in front of them as well too, so overall it was very, very pleasing."
Celtic v Hearts highlights
18/10/26
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So, just how good a Celtic performance was this?
As far as former Rangers striker Kris Boyd is concerned, it was a throwback to Parkhead's favourite Australian, whose fast-flowing, attacking football delivered a domestic double followed by a treble in his two seasons in charge, prior to Brendan Rodgers' return.
"That is the closest I've seen to Ange Postecoglou's Celtic," Boyd told Sky Sports.
"That first half was devastating."
Former Hearts defender Ryan McGowan felt his old side simply ran into Celtic at the wrong time.
"It's a really poor performance from Hearts," McGowan said on Sky Sports.
"At the same time, you've got to give Celtic credit. It was probably their best performance of the season."
Celtic showed more cohesion and spirit than in recent performances, according to former goalkeeper Pat Bonner, who feels two youngsters shone particularly brightly in the October sunshine.
"Celtic's organisation was better," Bonner told BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound.
"They worked harder as a unit. Their attitude was better, everybody doing that little bit of hard graft that you have to do and then ability takes over.
"Young Callum Osmand and Colby Donovan, they're the ones that set the tone."
Former Celtic captain Scott Brown summed up his old side's performance in one word: "Fantastic."
And he added: "The best thing about Celtic today was the pace in the forward line and how they got after Hearts. Camilo Duran through the middle is exciting me.
"Callum Osmand did more in 45 minutes out wide than Sebastian Tounekti has done probably since he signed for the club. Haissem Hassan has got a few issues defensively but going forward he's a delight to watch."
Has O'Neill found his best XI?
The front four of Osmand, Benjamin Nygren, Hassan and Duran caused Hearts no end of problems.
A double for the young striker, a double for the Sweden international who's now on eight for the season from midfield well before Halloween, a goal and two assists from the consistently impressive Colombian, and one of the Egypt winger's best displays since signing after the World Cup. Is this then the template going forward? Not necessarily, according to their manager.
"No, because we've got so many matches coming up in Europe and in the league," O'Neill explained.
"We're going Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, Thursday. So, we will have to mix it up a little bit. It's also a squad game for us at this stage. Between now and the beginning of January we are at it constantly."
As if to illustrate his point, Celtic's next fixture comes under the 'must-win' category as Celta Vigo come calling in Thursday's Europa League fixture, with both sides yet to register a point in the league phase after two defeats each.
"We'll make a couple of adjustments on Thursday evening," O'Neill said.
"We still want to try and win and I think other players coming on and getting little bits of games here and there helps immensely. It helps the whole squad and I think it helps the confidence of the team.
"It will be a tough game for us. Celta Vigo are a team in a big league in Spain, they're very, very decent, but it's a game we probably have to win.
"We have to win to give ourselves some momentum and do some catching up because we've lost two games, so we really need to win this game. We'll go all out to try and do it."
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Will Celtic take some catching from here?
O'Neill, fresh from the memory of two recent defeats by arch rivals Rangers, knows there is many a slip between cup and lip when it comes to the Premiership rollercoaster.
"Four points at this stage of the season is absolutely nothing," he stressed.
"I thought the team did really well. We got the goals, which seemed to match the performance, which was really nice. It's not too often you get a scoreline like that. So, we'll enjoy it this evening."
It was all summed up rather nicely by one of O'Neill's favoured sons when he was manager first time around between 2000 and 2005 - Henrik Larsson's strike partner, Chris Sutton.
"It's a strange old season for Celtic," Sutton told Sky Sports.
"Domestically, they've been flying, but in Europe it just hasn't been there. Good to see Jota back. What a contribution Callum Osmand made. Will this result lead on to more confidence in Europe?"
With Celta Vigo turning up in midweek, everyone associated with Celtic will certainly hope so.
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