Celtic fans could 'turn on Martin O'Neill' after 'humiliation'

Martin O'Neill has been warned he could lose the backing of the Celtic fans if they suffer another defeat against Rangers this weekend.

This comes in the wake of Celtic's humbling 3-0 defeat at Ibrox, which has raised alarm bells about their performances in the biggest games of this season so far.

O'Neill will be given the opportunity to overturn the result at Parkhead on 20 September, but has now been warned a defeat could lead to sections of the fanbase turning on him.

Former Man United assistant manager Mick Brown told Football Insider that Celtic fans expect to win against Rangers and anything less will be deemed unacceptable.

O'Neill has impressed and won a lot of plaudits for his work since making the surprise return to Glasgow last season, but must be aware he is not immune from criticism.

Despite what has been a strong start to the Scottish Premiership season, should Celtic lose at home to Rangers, questions could be asked of the manager's position.

Could Martin O'Neill come under pressure at Celtic?

Brown told Football Insider on 14 September that Celtic must "bury" Rangers in their next game to ease any frustrations after the heavy Premier Sports Cup defeat.

Expectations are high at Parkhead, but concerns have crept in about their record in big games following a heavy defeat to Rangers and the 5-1 loss against LASK last month.

Despite O'Neill enjoying a successful spell since he returned to Parkhead last season, pressure could now mount on his position as fans' expectations ramp up.

"It's difficult to suggest Martin O'Neill should, or even could have done better at Celtic," Brown told Football Insider.

"He's done a brilliant job since he came back into the role, he's getting good results out of them and they're playing some good football, so it's all been very positive.

"I get the impression that O'Neill was reluctant to go back in the first place, but he went in there, got some positive results, had a strong end to the season and was under no great pressure.

"So he's stuck with it, he's had the fans on his side, and it's convinced him he can do the job for another year despite that never being the plan.

"But all of a sudden, something like this will come along, it was a humiliating defeat against Rangers and the fans and the club aren't going to be happy with that.

"So now we'll see how O'Neill and his players deal with that, and if they go into the next game and they lose this one as well, then those fans could start to turn.

"If they don't get a positive result, the whole thing could flip and all of a sudden he's under pressure when he never really expected to be."

How does O'Neill feel about his position at Celtic?

It was a surprise to see O'Neill land the permanent Celtic job in the summer, with the initial plan having been for him to step aside and make way for a new arrival.

Following the disaster of Wilfried Nancy's short-term tenure last season, the boss stepped in on an interim basis and, in his words, was happy to help the club out.

However, Brown told Football Insider in June that O'Neill was close to landing the permanent job as the Celtic board were branded lazy and could cause themselves problems.

Instead of confronting their problems, they will now have to deal with these issues further down the line after they shied away from another big decision.

O'Neill was happy to stay on as Celtic manager, but the decision was not without criticism, and the board must take the stick for their decisions.