Martin O'Neill said before Sunday's match with Falkirk that he was in full agreement with captain Callum McGregor's assessment of Celtic's control issues after Celtic's 2-2 draw with Dundee United on Wednesday. Celtic hold a four-point lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
O'Neill backs McGregor's assessment
BBC Sport says McGregor described some moments in games as being "a bit basketball" as Celtic lacked their usual control. BBC Sport also says McGregor noted that playing strikers like Callum Osmand and Camilo Duran as wingers may be contributing to those issues.
When O'Neill was asked about those comments before Sunday's match with Falkirk, he said: "I totally agree that Callum Osmand is actually really a centre forward, I've said this at the press conference, that he is essentially a centre forward. He probably would play off somebody strong alongside him, I'm not so sure that he could lead the line on his own. And that Camilo Duran is really a centre forward, so the players are getting to know each other, it's as really simple as that there, so I'm in total agreement with Callum."
Time needed for the squad
O'Neill said: "I come in here every single week and I'm most of the time pretty buoyed by things. Don't try and throw a lot of divides in at the end of the day, we're doing fine. A lot of lads here didn't even do pre-season with us. A number of players came in quite late on, so it will take time for us. So we need to hang in there, and at this minute I think we're hanging in."
O'Neill also said the group will improve as more players get up to speed across the course of the winter.
What happened against Dundee United
The Celtic Bhoys says Celtic gave up a lead by conceding twice in three first-half minutes and equalised in the second half. The Celtic Bhoys says Liam Scales cancelled out his own goal in the second half.
Speaking after the game, O'Neill said: "I thought that we were very, very strong in the second half, naturally from our viewpoint we conceded some poor goals, but we fought back and I just thought we were going to win it at the end. We could have ended up losing it as well too. On the break I thought Dundee United were very dangerous and they played very well in the game. Just a bit of frustration that we didn't, with the possession and the territory that we had, we didn't get the winning goal. But who's to say how important the point might be?"
League position and wider context
BBC Sport says Celtic will extend that lead to seven if they beat Falkirk on Sunday, with Rangers in League Cup action. BBC Sport says Celtic have only lost once in the league, at home to Rangers.
BBC Sport says Cameron Carter-Vickers said after the Glasgow derby loss that the team were "too random" in their play. BBC Sport also says there has been fan discontent and a boycott of some games by the Green Brigade fans group.
The Celtic Bhoys says that was Celtic's first draw in the Premiership this season and only the second Premiership game Celtic have failed to win this season. Celtic Shorts says Hearts and Rangers also drew, leaving the top four in the Scottish Premiership unchanged.
