O’Neill demands Celtic ‘straighten out’ sloppiness before LASK play-off decider

Celtic eased into the last eight of the Premier Sports Cup with a 4-0 win away at Dundee United, but manager Martin O’Neill has told his side they must sharpen up before a far tougher assignment against LASK in the Champions League play-off round on Wednesday.

Celtic were rarely troubled on the scoreboard at Tannadice, yet O’Neill admitted his team’s overall performance level did not match the final result. Dundee United struck the woodwork as many as five times during the match, a statistic the Hoops boss said should not be ignored.

“The scoreline suggests we were comfortable,” O’Neill said. “In some moments we were terrific and in other moments I felt we were just a bit untidy. We’ll have to straighten that out before Wednesday.”

He added: “I felt up until maybe the third goal that United were never really out of it. They hit the bar and post four or five times so that might tell you something.”

Hogh leading a more varied attack

Celtic have now scored nine goals across their last two domestic outings, following a rout of Kilmarnock with the win over Dundee United, and O’Neill believes his squad now carries greater attacking depth than it did last season.

Centre-forward Kasper Hogh has been central to that improvement. “It does give you encouragement,” O’Neill said. “I think the centre-forward, Kasper Hogh, he’s linked up well, he obviously wants to get into the penalty area, but he’s a very fine centre-forward. He’ll thrive on goals like any centre-forward.”

O’Neill also pointed to a broader spread of goalscorers as a key difference from last term, when Celtic leaned heavily on Daizen Maeda’s output. “I think we’ve got goal scorers in the side. That was always a concern last season,” he said. “Daizen Maeda almost single-handedly took it upon himself to score the goals, now I think there are goals from different areas.”

Squad reinforcements being sought

With the Champions League play-off looming and the domestic transfer window still open, O’Neill is looking to strengthen his squad further. Celtic have been linked with Blackburn Rovers goalkeeper Balazs Toth and Hajduk Split midfielder Niko Sigur as potential additions before the deadline.

There has also been reported interest from Panathinaikos in midfielder Reo Hatate, while Arne Engels is expected to complete a departure from the club, adding further urgency to O’Neill’s efforts to bolster his options in midfield.

Read more: O’Neill seeks Engels replacement as Celtic sanction £22m West Ham exit

Celtic’s cup progress into the Premier Sports Cup last eight offers O’Neill a welcome boost in goal output, but the manager’s focus now firmly shifts to European business, with a place in the Champions League proper at stake against LASK.

Sources

• dailymail.com
• Daily Record

This is an independent report written from the facts across the sources named above.