{"id":293557,"date":"2025-12-01T19:25:20","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T19:25:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/293557\/"},"modified":"2025-12-01T19:25:20","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T19:25:20","slug":"martin-oneill-decision-highlights-celtic-chief-who-is-getting-away-with-murder","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/293557\/","title":{"rendered":"Martin O\u2019Neill Decision Highlights Celtic Chief Who Is \u2018Getting Away With Murder\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Celtic\u2019s<\/a> dramatic 3\u20131 victory away to Feyenoord in the Europa League on Thursday night should have been remembered solely for the performance: intelligent, aggressive, and full of the energy that has defined Martin O\u2019Neill\u2019s surprise return to the dugout.<\/p>\n

But while supporters celebrated a historic away result in Europe, Hugh Keevins turned the spotlight elsewhere, directly onto Celtic\u2019s recruitment department and, more specifically, Head of Football Operations Paul Tisdale.<\/a><\/p>\n

The veteran journalist pulled no punches, pointing out a detail that many fans had already noticed but few analysts were willing to spell out so bluntly: not one of Celtic\u2019s summer signings made O\u2019Neill\u2019s starting XI in Rotterdam.<\/p>\n

In one of the club\u2019s biggest European fixtures of the season, every new recruit was deemed surplus to requirements by a manager parachuted in on an interim basis.<\/p>\n

For Keevins, the symbolism was damning. After months of concern about the club\u2019s direction in the transfer market, the Feyenoord lineup, and O\u2019Neill\u2019s success with trusted established players, offered, in his view, the clearest indictment yet of where the club\u2019s recruitment strategy has gone wrong.<\/p>\n

In his column, Keevins argued that O\u2019Neill had unintentionally exposed the shortcomings of Celtic\u2019s football operations department.<\/p>\n

Instead of elevating the squad, the summer outlay appeared, to him, to have produced players the interim manager simply could not rely on for a high-stakes European night.<\/p>\n

He said: (Sunday Mail<\/a>), \u201cThe stand-in manager highlighted the lack of quality available to him when the team he chose to start in Rotterdam on Thursday night contained none of the players brought to Celtic at a cost of millions of pounds in the summer transfer window.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe window that failed to provide Rodgers<\/a> with additional players before the unmitigated disaster that was the home-and-away humiliation at the hands of Kairat Almaty in the Champions League play-off round.<\/p>\n

\u201cO\u2019Neill effectively marked Paul Tisdale\u2019s homework in the Netherlands and found the club\u2019s head of operations to be a dunce.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe rarely-spotted Tisdale has been getting away with murder.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne questionable buy after another and a complete lack of accountability. Until O\u2019Neill shone a light on his shortcomings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Keevins\u2019 comments will only intensify scrutiny around Tisdale at a time when questions about Celtic\u2019s structure are already swirling.<\/p>\n

Supporters have long expressed confusion over the club\u2019s recruitment identity, unsure whether targets are chosen by analytics, by executives, by managers, or by some mishmash of competing voices.<\/p>\n

Seeing none of the summer signings trusted for a major European match has now fuelled fears that the club may have wasted both money and momentum.<\/p>\n

What makes the criticism particularly potent is the contrast between O\u2019Neill\u2019s clarity and Celtic\u2019s broader uncertainty.<\/p>\n

The interim boss has relied on established players, simplified the messaging, restored confidence, and immediately delivered results.<\/p>\n

When that approach produces wins in tough European environments while the club\u2019s own transfer investments sit unused, the optics become impossible to ignore.<\/p>\n

With Wilfried Nancy set to arrive as Celtic\u2019s next permanent manager, the issue becomes even more pressing.<\/a> The new head coach will be expected to rejuvenate the squad, impose his philosophy, and compete on multiple fronts almost immediately.<\/p>\n

If the recruitment structure beneath him is malfunctioning, or if the talent coming through the door is not suited to his needs, the risks are obvious. Celtic are entering a defining period both on and off the pitch.<\/p>\n

\"\"30th November 2025; Easter Road, Edinburgh, Scotland: Scottish Premiership Football, Hibernian versus Celtic; \/c1 celebrates as Auston Trusty of Celtic and Arne Engels of Celtic share a joke<\/p>\n

Keevins\u2019 critique may be harsh, but it taps into a sentiment widely shared among sections of the support: that Celtic cannot continue to drift in the transfer market.<\/p>\n

If the club wants to back Nancy properly and maintain the standards O\u2019Neill has resurrected, then transparency, direction, and accountability must now become non-negotiable.<\/p>\n


\n \"Tees
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