O'Neill downplays 7-1 win as Celtic prepare for crucial Europa League trip

Celtic beat Hearts 7-1 at Celtic Park in October in a Scottish Premiership match, but manager Martin O'Neill warned against overinterpreting the result. He told BBC Scotland, "Four points at this stage of the season is absolutely nothing."

Supporter unrest has lingered around the club, with a recent tennis ball protest against the major shareholder on a golf course and debate over whether the veteran manager should "wrap things up", yet Celtic sit four points clear at the top of the Scottish Premiership — five if goal difference is considered, with their +12 margin over nearest challengers Rangers. The 7-1 demolition of last season's runners-up Hearts came after a run that included four significant defeats in their past half-dozen matches and represented Celtic's biggest win since O'Neill returned last year. Hearts had been widely viewed as viable title contenders until they arrived at Celtic Park.

Asked whether the result was a "statement", O'Neill replied, "I'm not really sure about that," and added, "We're eight or nine games into the season or whatever it is. It was nice to win and win in the manner we did as well. We scored some really great goals. We looked really good going forward and I thought, defensively, the back four did really well for us when we were under pressure. But I think they were helped by the players in front of them as well too, so overall it was very, very pleasing."

Former players and pundits praised the display. Kris Boyd told Sky Sports, "That is the closest I've seen to Ange Postecoglou's Celtic," adding, "That first half was devastating." Ryan McGowan described Hearts' display as "a really poor performance from Hearts" while also conceding, "At the same time, you've got to give Celtic credit. It was probably their best performance of the season." Pat Bonner told BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound, "Celtic's organisation was better," and singled out, "Young Callum Osmand and Colby Donovan, they're the ones that set the tone." Scott Brown summed it up as "Fantastic," and said, "The best thing about Celtic today was the pace in the forward line and how they got after Hearts. Camilo Duran through the middle is exciting me. Callum Osmand did more in 45 minutes out wide than Sebastian Tounekti has done probably since he signed for the club. Haissem Hassan has got a few issues defensively but going forward he's a delight to watch."

The front quartet of Osmand, Benjamin Nygren, Hassan and Duran caused Hearts sustained problems: "A double for the young striker, a double for the Sweden international who's now on eight for the season from midfield well before Halloween, a goal and two assists from the consistently impressive Colombian, and one of the Egypt winger's best displays since signing after the World Cup," the report noted.

O'Neill warned that selection and fixture congestion will shape team choices: "No, because we've got so many matches coming up in Europe and in the league. We're going Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, Thursday, Sunday, Thursday. So, we will have to mix it up a little bit. It's also a squad game for us at this stage. Between now and the beginning of January we are at it constantly." He added, "We'll make a couple of adjustments on Thursday evening. We still want to try and win and I think other players coming on and getting little bits of games here and there helps immensely. It helps the whole squad and I think it helps the confidence of the team."

Celtic travel to face Celta Vigo in Thursday's Europa League fixture, a group match in which both sides have yet to register a point after two defeats each. O'Neill said, "It will be a tough game for us. Celta Vigo are a team in a big league in Spain, they're very, very decent, but it's a game we probably have to win. We have to win to give ourselves some momentum and do some catching up because we've lost two games, so we really need to win this game. We'll go all out to try and do it."

Celtic's immediate focus is that Europa League trip to Celta Vigo on Thursday; with European form a recurrent concern in the coverage, "With Celta Vigo turning up in midweek, everyone associated with Celtic will certainly hope so."