Celtic suffered an embarrassing 3-0 defeat to Rangers in the Scottish League Cup at the weekend. Hoops boss Martin O'Neill has claimed that his side were outmuscled in the game. However, fingers should point to his tactics.
Despite playing at Ibrox, O'Neill went for a very attacking 4-3-3 lineup. Much of Celtic's success this season has come when playing with two holding midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 formation.
Callum McGregor and Mika Baur have been a great defensive midfield partnership for Celtic. However, Baur was playing further forward against the Gers. Benjamin Nygren also dropped back from his usual attacking midfielder role to a more central role with Baur.
Celtic had won their last four Scottish Premiership games playing with holding midfielders. They used two against St. Johnstone, St. Mirren, and Falkirk, whilst against Aberdeen they had Callum McGregor playing the defensive role in a 4-1-4-1 formation.
It was, and therefore, strange that O'Neill decided not to play an out and out holding midfielder away at Ibrox. With no away supporters, the Hoops were in for a difficult match and needed to control the midfield.
Martin O'Neill has got his tactics wrong on occasions this season
Derek McInnes got his tactics right, using a 4-4-1-1 lineup. Dan Neil was particularly impressive in the middle of the park and scored a brace. Rangers had slightly more of the ball, with 53% possession, but they used it effectively. They had eight shots on target compared to Celtic's one.
O'Neill did a great job with the Hoops last season with his two stints in charge. He won the Scottish Premiership in dramatic fashion and the Scottish Cup. O'Neill made up for the errors that the Celtic hierarchy made when appointing Wilfried Nancy as Brendan Rodgers' permanent successor.
However, O'Neil is now 74, and had not managed since his brief spell back at Nottingham Forest in 2019. He is a great pundit and was a regular on talkSPORT before he went back in charge of the Hoops. However, O'Neill is not going to be Celtic's long-term option in the dugout.
He is expected to be in charge this season. This is well deserved given the work he did last season. Of course, managers get tactics wrong. However, Celtic have had another big capitulation already this season. Losing 5-1 to LASK in the Champions League qualifier second leg after having a three-goal lead was catastrophic.
O'Neil used his attacking 4-3-3 lineup to win the first leg against LASK. However, changed to a 4-2-3-1 as they lost away from home. You can see why O'Neill used the 4-3-3 against Rangers, as it has worked in the past. However, it appears to be a formation that he should use at Celtic Park or against inferior opposition.
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