Celtic have been slammed for how they have handled the Martin O'Neill situation.
Going into the international break, there was a world of uncertainty around Martin O'Neill and his long-term future at Celtic. Would the club try to make a change after three consecutive losses? Would the Northern Irishman himself choose to walk away in order to preserve his legacy? If so, who would they replace him with?
All of these are questions that must have worried the Celtic supporters. Yet, more than a week later, there is not much more clarity around the situation.
For the time being, it does feel like O'Neill is set to continue. Celtic do not appear to have much appetite for a change in managers despite the three straight losses. Understandably so, as they found out how difficult it can be with the Wilfried Nancy appointment last year.
As for O'Neill himself, it does feel like he is ready to continue in his role for the time being. Otherwise, it feels like an announcement would have been made by now.
The issue is, all of these are guesses, more than anything else. And the fans deserved more clarity from the club itself rather than having to rely on what has historically happened in the past in similar situations.
Celtic slammed for how they've handled the situation
As journalist Mark Hendry of CeltsAreHere wrote: "After three straight defeats and the manager publicly admitting he would consider his future, supporters shouldn’t be left guessing about what happens next."
Hendry goes on to describe the silence as 'deafening', and that is definitely a very good way to put it.
Celtic's communication with the supporters has faced heavy criticism in the past as well. But unfortuntely, it has not gotten much better over time.
It does feel like the club need to be much better when it comes to these things, especially in modern football, when it does not take long for speculation to snowball into something bigger on social media.
Martin O'Neill needs to turn things around
The best-case scenario for Celtic would be for O'Neill to not only continue but also turn the results around.
Otherwise, he won't be able to remain in the Parkhead hot seat for much longer. Results are the most important thing at a club like Celtic.
O'Neill has one of the greatest legacies in Celtic history. That gives him some extra time. But at the end of the day, even he will face his fair share of criticism from the supporters when results don't come.
And right now, they simply have not been up to the mark. This Celtic team had started the campaign well but have seemed very short on confidence since the 5-1 defeat against LASK in the second leg to get knocked out of the Champions League qualifiers.
The two losses to the Rangers this month would not have made things any easier for them. The international break came at the right time.
