Martin O’Neill Urges January Signings to Make an Impact
Martin O’Neill has emphasized the importance of his January signings making a significant impact on Celtic’s title hopes, as the club continues to navigate the challenges of the season. Despite six new additions to the squad last month, only Julian Araujo has managed to stand out so far.
Araujo, who joined when Wilfried Nancy was in charge, has been the most noticeable among the new arrivals. Meanwhile, Tomas Cvancara and Junior Adamu have each scored one goal, while Joel Mvuka has not been seen since halftime in his debut match against Dundee.
During the recent 2-2 draw against Rangers, only Araujo was on the field from the six new players. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was substituted at half-time, and Benjamin Arthur remained an unused substitute.
O’Neill acknowledged the difficulties faced by players joining mid-season but believes it is now time for them to deliver results. He stated, “Yes, that was the expectation anyway. That’s exactly what you want to do.”
He also highlighted the demanding nature of the league, noting, “This might sound ridiculous as Alex has played big, big games throughout his career, but when you haven’t played for some time and are then thrown into that … Whatever you talk about, the game is helter-skelter and so it was difficult for him in moments.”
Oxlade-Chamberlain started brightly with a winning goal from the bench against Livingston but struggled to cope with the pace of the game at the weekend as Rangers surged onto a two-goal lead. O’Neill reflected, “He showed a little bit of class here and there, but overall, I thought it was difficult. But again, he’ll settle it each day as he does more training. He’ll get used to it.”
O’Neill also encouraged Mvuka to move past a difficult start, acknowledging that the Norwegian winger found it challenging in the first half of the Dundee game. However, he praised Mvuka’s training performance, stating, “He’s trained very, very well.”
Benjamin Arthur, another player who has yet to make a significant impact, was also mentioned by O’Neill. He said, “I believe he will be a player in his career.”
Kelechi Iheanacho, who joined as a free agent after the summer window closed, has been in and out of the squad since recovering from injury. Although available for the trip to Aberdeen, O’Neill admitted concerns about his ability to last the duration of matches. He said, “I don’t think he’s played that much during the course of the season, to tell you the truth. But I think he’s got a good ability to hold it up. It’s just in terms of full fitness and things, that’s a bit of a concern.”
Michel-Ange Balikwisha, who was signed for £4.5 million, is fit and available despite not playing since the cup tie against Auchinleck on January 18. O’Neill clarified, “No, he hasn’t figured here at this minute. I do feel for him a little bit because my job is not to please everyone here at the football club. I don’t think he’s had a proper chance. He certainly hasn’t had a proper chance under my time.”
Meanwhile, O’Neill has urged Reo Hatate to change the narrative surrounding him. The Japanese midfielder has been off the pace all season but delivered an outstanding second-half display at Ibrox, helping Celtic salvage a draw through his injury time penalty. O’Neill said, “It’s up to him as the player. This is it. Reo’s been a really fine footballer here. It’s been a tough old season for him. It’s been a tough old season for the football club. So, if he could maintain that form, then he can be an asset to us.”
When asked if he was confident Hatate could maintain his form, O’Neill added, “Well, it would be easy for me to sit here and say that would be fantastic. But that would really be up to the player as much as anything. In terms of encouragement here, which is something that we can give him, absolutely. He gets all the encouragement in the world from us. It wouldn’t be on that scoring that he would fail.”
With Kasper Schmeichel still unwell, Viljami Sinisalo will retain his place in goal against Aberdeen as Celtic look to move into second place in the table.
