Copyright Yardbarker
Celtic endured a tough evening in Denmark on Thursday, falling to a 3-1 defeat against FC Midtjylland in the Europa League. Goals from Martin Erlic, Mikel Gogorza and Franculino sealed another impressive victory for the hosts, keeping their unbeaten run alive and maintaining their position at the top of the 36-team league phase. Martin O’Neill’s men struggled to cope from the outset, with Midtjylland dominating the early stages and effectively wrapping up the game before the interval. Reo Hatate converted a late penalty won by substitute Callum Osmand with ten minutes to play, though the goal proved nothing more than a consolation for the Hoops. The defeat has dampened the growing optimism around the club and is likely to reignite familiar doubts about Celtic’s direction in the aftermath of Brendan Rodgers’ departure last Monday. Now, after the game, Chris Sutton gave his thoughts about Celtic’s defeat and his former gaffer’s current situation. “Sobering night for Celtic,” he wrote on X. “No great surprise.” “Midtylland better in every department. Great to see MON [Martin O’Neill] return and the wins against Falkirk and (the)Rangers, but I’d hate to see MON stay on too long and damage his legacy. This isn’t on him at all. New manager needed in place asap.” The past 10 days have been charged with emotion for everyone connected to the club, from the players and staff to the fans, with Dermot Desmond’s abomination of a statement reflecting that tension rather than any sort of comfort. Admiration and love for O’Neill came naturally due to his legendary standing at the club, and was reinforced by crucial victories over Falkirk and theRangers. Desmond’s business model as far as European football is concerned has been a shambles from start to finish. Indeed when Martin left Celtic the first time he warned that Celtic were about to live life in the slow lane. Last night he found out first hand just how right he was back in 2005 as we lost to a team with a stadium holding just 12k supporters. Kilmarnock on Sunday should be O’Neill’s final game as interim boss. The club should be ready to conclude their interviews and like Sutton emphasises, appoint a manager as soon as possible.
