Martin O’Neill is adamant that everyone associated with Celtic has had a wake-up call this season as the club’s domination of the game has been threatened.
After losing the Scottish Cup final to Aberdeen last May, the Parkhead club surrendered the League Cup to St Mirren and are now in a four-way title fight with Hearts, Rangers and Motherwell.
And while O’Neill feels the challenges from elsewhere must be welcomed, he believes it’s imperative that all concerned now work on the assumption that they will still be there next season.
‘That should excite you really as much as anything else to know that there’s proper challenges coming in now and that you’ve got to be on your toes,’ he said.
‘You have to be vigilant. You have to be alert, ready for all challenges coming in. I don’t think I’m saying something that we don’t all think.
‘Please just accept that this is not a clarion call. I think in the summer we’ll have to have a look at the whole situation and see that we’re ready for whatever is going to be if you want to be the dominant force here, which they have been for quite a number of years.
O’Neill admitted that Celtic have been taken by surprise by the challenge from Hearts this term
‘It seems from a distance as if there hasn’t been the challenges there. Now, there’s challenges coming, which I think is a really good thing for the league.
‘I think it is really good. It’s exciting. But so, Celtic have to be ready for those.’
O’Neill freely admits that he was among those who weren’t convinced that Celtic’s run of 13 titles in 14 years would come under such threat.
‘You can’t take things for granted. You have to fight every single season for something,’ he added.
‘And while we’ve had a glorious period for quite a number of years, I think the challenge that has come up this season, I might be wrong about this, but it might have surprised us in that sense.
‘Maybe thinking Hearts weren’t (going to challenge), maybe thinking (the same about) Rangers.
‘From a distance, I didn’t think that Rangers were all that great. But their squad now, by Scottish standards, it’s not been cheap. They’ve spent a few pounds and probably had to improve their team.
‘So, I think that’s the point I’m making. I think for us it’s been a spoiled period for quite a number of years.
‘You can’t treat it lightly. And I think it’s been a great thing for Scottish football.
‘But for us as a football club, people are asking about trophies.
‘To me, this season, we’re a long way off trophies. Could have won one, yeah, absolutely. Could have won. But in terms of now, I don’t even consider that.’
O’Neill’s side are in a four-way title fight and face Rangers in the last eight of the Scottish Cup
O’Neill is optimistic that Kieran Tierney will be fit to face Rangers in tomorrow’s Scottish Cup quarter-final at Ibrox.
The defender failed to train yesterday having picked up a knock in the midweek win at Pittodrie when Toyosi Olusanya stood on his foot.
Kasper Schmeichel might also be available after missing the past three games through a shoulder injury, though Viljami Sinisalo is expected to keep his place after another impressive outing at Pittodrie.
After only having 2,500 fans at last week’s 2-2 draw, O’Neill is relishing the prospect of seeing three times that number filling the Broomloan Road end.
Reiterating his plea for that number to again be the norm, he said: ‘From a distance, not that my voice is anything, but I’ve been advocating for it to happen, for both clubs to open up again, because it is a fantastic fixture. And it’s made much, much better because of the full allocation.
‘I don’t want to go back into yesteryear, all that type of stuff, but those fixtures were really something special, and I still think they are. And if the clubs could agree and get back to full allocation for away fans, it would be terrific.’
