Celtic have lost six of their last 10 matches in all competitions, and manager Martin O'Neill is drawing on a famous Tommy Burns quote as he admits it is sink or swim time for his struggling squad.
The Hoops' 2-0 defeat away to Falkirk on Sunday extended a worrying run, with results beginning to catch up with performances. O'Neill, trying to figure out how to get Celtic functioning again, said some of his players are in sink or swim territory.
Burns' words at the forefront
O'Neill said: "You have to cope with the pressure to be a player. Tommy Burns said it might be easier to play against Celtic than for Celtic but hopefully we have enough in the dressing room and players who have been big winners."
Burns also famously remarked that it was like defending with four players down when he had the likes of Jorge Cadete, Paolo di Canio, Pierre van Hooijdonk and Andreas Thom on the pitch, and O'Neill suggested it is similar with the current Celtic side, who can create chances but are wide open at the back.
Struggles and pressure
Some of the old guard at Parkhead are struggling, with Cameron Carter-Vickers having a difficult afternoon against Falkirk. New recruits are also finding it hard going, with wide man Haissem Hassan yet to catch fire and striker Kasper Hogh unable to buy a goal, while several late arrivals have barely had a sniff. Camilo Duran has looked the part but disappeared after the break when Falkirk were 2-0 up.
O'Neill was in defiant and spiked mood afterwards, meeting questions about pressure, tactics and team selection with icy glares. He faces major pressure from supporters who reckon his legendary status is not relevant to the current struggles, but he is not putting up the white flag, noting he dug Celtic out of a far deeper hole last season.
Looking ahead to key fixtures
The Hoops were eight points behind Hearts when O'Neill arrived as caretaker after Brendan Rodgers departed 12 months ago, only to haul the side level when he left. They were six behind when he had to pick up the pieces from Wilfried Nancy a few months later. This time Celtic are four points clear, having played a game more, and O'Neill is convinced this is more of a bump than a terminal decline.
O'Neill said: "I think that's what we have to do. It's Celtic Football Club. We're not used to losing a lot of games. We were in a much worse position this time last year so we have to buckle down and win a game and win a game in Europe. Thursday is a big game (against Besiktas in the Europa League) and then the following Sunday is massive (against Kilmarnock) before we go into the international break."
On the team's issues, O'Neill said: "The only way I'm going to tell – you can think someone is doing well in training but the only place to find where players fit is out there. We need to sort out a few things. I was asked about confidence. If you take Kasper, he wanted to get a goal after some time. Something might fall for him but it's not just something might fall for you. You have to work at it which is something us as a team and the players in particular need to do."
Regarding Carter-Vickers' difficult afternoon, O'Neill said: "Dane Murray has done wonderfully well. The reason for us to have a squad is the number of games we play in succession. We've gone weekend, midweek for a really long time. We have a couple of boys away. Auston Trusty is away with his father dying, Oliver Sorensen had a family bereavement so those things have happened but players need to play and he has been a big player in the past."
O'Neill boiled Sunday's defeat down to defensive lapses, failure to take chances and Falkirk keeper Scott Bain having one of the games of his life. He said: "At half-time I thought we were still in the game. I thought we'd played decent stuff. If you concede a magnificent goal you take it in your stride. When you concede a bad goal, which from any viewpoint was a poor goal, then it's tough to come back then the goalie makes some saves and it's frustrating. Despite mistakes at the back we had enough chances to get back."
