Martin O’Neill warned his players that they have to exert more control over games after they dropped two points at home to Dundee United.
A goal ahead through Camilo Duran, Celtic found themselves behind at half-time as Zac Sapsford and Neil Farrugia took full advantage of their slackness.
While Liam Scales secured a point for the champions in the second half, O’Neill admitted he’s concerned that his side are failing to dominate opponents for a concerted spell.
‘I think sometimes the lack of control comes from losing possession quite easily,’ he said. ‘Sometimes the move breaks down. Next thing you know, we’re stranded.
‘Because we are essentially at Celtic Park controlling the game. So, we’ve pressed a lot of players forward, a centre half is moving into midfield and beyond. Next thing you know, if it breaks down, there is danger. So, that’s something that we have to try and eliminate.’
Celtic lost two goals inside four minutes against United and now have just one clean sheet in the last eight games.
Martin O’Neill admits Celtic need to gain much more control in games
Camilo Duran broke the deadlock for Celtic but they were held 2-2 at home by Dundee United
Asked how concerning that statistic was, O’Neill said: ‘I think naturally we can do better. I think that we could have done better for the goals. But every single goal that’s conceded, every manager and every player on the team that’s conceded will say that we could have done better.’
Despite his side failing to increase their advantage over Hearts and Rangers, O’Neill claimed he wasn’t too disappointed with the outcome.
‘I thought that we were very, very strong in the second half,’ he added. ‘From our viewpoint, we conceded some poor goals. But we fought back and I just thought we were going to win it.
‘But we could have ended up losing it as well too on the break. I thought Dundee United were very dangerous.
‘We didn’t get the winning goal, but who’s to say how important the point might be.’
Jota again came on as a substitute but O’Neill cautioned against anyone believing that the Portuguese will be ready to start matches any time soon.
‘Yeah, a little off,’ he stressed. ‘When he was here the first time, obviously, I wasn’t here.
‘I hear very good things about him. He’s a really fine player. And yeah, (it would be good) if he could get back to that type of form, which is going to take a little bit of time, having been so long out of the game.’
United manager Jim Goodwin felt a shade disappointed that his side didn’t hang on for their first win at Parkhead in almost 34 years.
‘We showed a great reaction after giving Celtic a gift for the first goal,’ he said. ‘We knew that we would have to suffer and dig deep in the second half as they are relentless at times.
‘Unfortunately, we couldn’t hold on but I am really proud of my players. They dug in at the end and got an important result to keep the run going.
‘We played decent football and we were also resilient.
‘Before the game, we would have said it was a decent point but having led for as long as we did, of course we are disappointed.
‘I am glad the players have something to show for their work and October has been a good month for us points-wise.’
