Martin O'Neill, manager of Celtic, has urged his players to exert more control over their games, citing a recent home draw against Dundee United as an example of the team's struggles.
Celtic conceded two goals within four minutes during the first half, after initially taking the lead through Camilo Duran. Despite Liam Scales securing a point in the second half, O'Neill expressed dissatisfaction with the team's performance.
"I think sometimes the lack of control comes from losing possession quite easily," O'Neill stated. "Sometimes the move breaks down. Next thing you know, we’re stranded."
Celtic has struggled defensively, managing only one clean sheet in their last eight matches. "I think naturally we can do better. I think that we could have done better for the goals," O'Neill commented on the defensive statistics.
Despite the dropped points, which affect Celtic's advantage over rivals Hearts and Rangers, O'Neill was not entirely disappointed with the outcome. "I thought that we were very, very strong in the second half," he said. "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."
O'Neill also provided an update on Jota, who recently returned as a substitute. He cautioned that the player is still regaining form after a long absence. "Yeah, a little off," O'Neill 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."
Dundee United manager Jim Goodwin felt his team missed an opportunity to secure their first win at Parkhead in nearly 34 years. "We showed a great reaction after giving Celtic a gift for the first goal," Goodwin 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."