Inteirm boss Martin O’Neill is refusing to let Celtic’s Europa League efforts go to waste ahead of facing VfB Stuttgart in the knockout play-off
Celtic have been backed to retain their Scottish Premiership crown – but they must tighten up defensively if they are to do so.
That’s according to ex-Hoops star and Neil Lennon’s long-serving former assistant Johan Mjallby, who has made his feelings clear on his old club’s chances heading into the final stretch of the season.
Mjallby, who spent six years in Glasgow, is under no illusions about the scale of the task facing Martin O’Neill’s side as they continue to battle it out in a three-way race with Hearts and Rangers at the league summit.
In a recent appearance on the Premier Sports Scottish Football Social Club, the Swede declared: “I do (believe they will do it). I think it’s going to be nip-and-tuck. I have a wee inclination that it is going to be decided on the last day.
“It’s a worry for me – if they are not going to be solid enough when it comes to the run-in, then they are going to struggle to win it (the league).
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“They are scoring goals, but they can’t really think that is going to be it. They need to get better at set pieces. Every time I watch them at one, I get worried. It looks to me that they are very vulnerable at set pieces.
“That is something that the manager has to address; there is no question about that.”
Celtic resume their domestic campaign this Sunday at home to Hibernian, with a Europa League knockout play-off first leg against Bundesliga side Stuttgart to come three days prior.
Should they manage to overcome their German opponents, that would set up a last-16 tie against either SC Braga or Porto. It leaves interim boss O’Neill with a major headache ahead of Thursday’s tie.
Given their current league position, Celtic’s focus should rightly be on prioritising domestic matters. In saying that, that’s not how club legend O’Neill is built.
How Martin O’Neill views Celtic’s Europa League headache
When Celtic went down 3-1 to FC Midtjylland in O’Neill’s first European match since his return, it looked like a long road back for their European ambitions. However, the conjured up impressive away performances at Feyenoord and Bologna, which has paved the way to this two-legged knockout clash.
Speaking after Sunday’s dramatic win at Rugby Park, O’Neill admitted that he had been uncertain about how to view Celtic’s Euro hopes this term, but he is now determined to ensure their efforts don’t go to waste.
He said: “Right, well obviously it’s against my nature, but I think that, what I didn’t want after beating Feyenoord – I thought that was the end for me anyway, in terms of games, of European matches…
“But when we came back and then getting a result in Bologna, I just didn’t want it to go to waste for the effort that the team had put in. So, we followed up, we beat Utrecht, then it gets you in. But that’s, the competition is like, if I want to be really honest about it, there’s some big, big teams with, still in that competition.
“And it’s a long way from home as well. Home meaning, a long way to go. Even if you went through against Stuttgart, who are in the Bundesliga, you’re still talking about into the last 16.
“That seems like miles away! So this is like the last 24. If it was a bit closer, you know, then you can think about it. It’s just, we’ll see what the energy’s like.
“But having said this, I wouldn’t want to give it up – I just wouldn’t want to. You’d like to, but the coefficient eventually might help Scotland at some stage, you know. Long after I’m gone!”