Celtic manager Martin O'Neill insists he has the fight to get his team back on track in the Premiership title race, despite a sixth defeat in their last ten matches in all competitions.
The Hoops crashed to a 2-0 loss at Falkirk on Sunday, a result that handed the Bairns their first victory over the Parkhead side in 19 years. Falkirk goalkeeper Scott Bain, a former Celtic player, produced a series of saves to keep the visitors at bay.
O'Neill sees a way out of the tailspin
O'Neill is under pressure after Celtic won just three of their last ten games, but the manager insisted he can see a path out of the recent slump.
"Of course. We'll have to try to sort it out," O'Neill said. "Remarkably, we're still top of the league. We came from a mile behind last year to win the league. A mile behind on two or three occasions as well too. So we came from a mile behind."
"We're still in a decent position at this minute and we've played a lot of football as well. I'm naturally disappointed to have lost the game. We had a lot of chances. Their goalie was magnificent but naturally we've lost so I'm very disappointed."
Poor defending and missed chances
Celtic fell behind inside three minutes at the Falkirk Stadium when Ethan Ross capitalised on a mistake by Cameron Carter-Vickers. Scott Tanser drilled in a second, and the Bairns were denied a third goal when VAR spotted a handball in the build-up.
O'Neill acknowledged the defensive issues but pointed to the chances his side created. "They were very poor from our viewpoint. We didn't clear it for the first one then we let someone run through and pick his spot for the second. We had some really great chances we just weren't able to convert," he said.
"Every single time that we lose a game, we come under scrutiny, and so we should because this is it. The club is used to winning."
Looking ahead to Besiktas
The Hoops have lost six of their last ten matches and face Besiktas in the Europa League on Thursday. O'Neill said the team must address their defensive record.
"We have conceded some poor goals and haven't kept a clean sheet for some time which is the essence of a championship team but we're still top and we need to address it and that's the way out of it," he said. "We scored seven against Hearts which isn't that long ago. I just thought the goalie had a magnificent game and we should have scored a number in each half."
"On another day, we could have scored about five. It didn't happen. The goalkeeper made some really fantastic saves, and sometimes it goes like that."
O'Neill refused to risk wide man Jota on the plastic pitch, while Auston Trusty and Oliver Sorensen were both absent due to family bereavements and could also miss Thursday's European clash.
