Celtic's Struggles: Simon Jordan Urges Martin O'Neill to Show More Steel
Simon Jordan has called on Martin O'Neill to show more steel after the Celtic manager publicly questioned his own future in the wake of a grim week for the Scottish champions.
Celtic’s season has jolted badly. Three defeats in seven days, two of them to Rangers, have ripped away early optimism and exposed a fragile underbelly in O’Neill’s side.
It started with a bruising 3-0 loss at Ibrox in the Scottish League Cup quarter-final, a result that stung not just for the scoreline but for the manner of it. Then came the league meeting at Celtic Park, a chance for an instant response on home turf. Instead, Celtic slipped to a 1-0 defeat and with it surrendered their perfect start to the Premiership campaign.
Between those Old Firm blows, Hungarian side Ferencvaros arrived in Glasgow for the Europa League curtain-raiser and left with a victory of their own. One bad night became a bad week. A bad week has now become a serious question about where this season is heading.
Celtic have already lost four matches in all competitions this term, matching the total number of defeats they suffered across 35 games last season. The contrast is stark. So is the scrutiny.
O’Neill, 74, signed a one-year deal in June after returning as caretaker in January and driving Celtic to a Premiership and Scottish Cup double. That comeback story felt triumphant then. It feels a lot more complicated now.
After the latest loss to Rangers, the manager did not come out swinging. He did the opposite.
"I genuinely will reflect and see," he said when asked if he remained the right man to lead the club. "It's a matter of whether I can help the team. If that's the case – the manager's supposed to be able to do that. I will have a look at that there this week."
Those words jarred with Simon Jordan. The former Crystal Palace chairman, speaking on talkSPORT, expected defiance from a figure as experienced and decorated as O’Neill, not introspection.
"I've liked to see him being a bit spikier and a bit more robust, rather than sounding relatively defeated in that clip," Jordan said, making no attempt to soften his view.
He wanted a statement of intent, not a period of reflection.
"I certainly would have been wanting to say back to them, 'This has happened, it will not happen again,'" Jordan added, arguing that a Celtic manager should project certainty after a setback, particularly against Rangers.
For Jordan, O’Neill’s tone – talking about whether he can still help the team and whether it might be his time to step aside – felt out of character.
"The fact that he's talking about whether he can help the team and whether it's his time – I find that slightly strange of Martin, but he's having a reflective moment."
Reflective or not, the numbers are now staring Celtic in the face. Four defeats already. Momentum slipping. A one-year contract ticking down. The next response, from both manager and players, will say far more than any post-match soundbite.
