Celtic Need a Tactical Reset After Ibrox Collapse – Opinion

Celtic’s 3-0 defeat at Ibrox was not just a bad day. It exposed a problem with the shape of this team that Martin O’Neill cannot ignore.

The biggest issue was in midfield.

Callum McGregor and Mika Baur were asked to cover far too much ground because the players ahead of them did not give Celtic enough without the ball.

Benjamin Nygren is a good footballer. Kasper Hogh can be a real threat in the box. But in a game like this, with Rangers pressing high and playing with aggression, the pair simply did not give Celtic enough mobility or pressure from the front.

That left Baur and McGregor trying to plug gaps everywhere.

They could not control the centre because they were constantly being asked to deal with runners, second balls and spaces that should never have been left open in the first place.

Two midfielders cannot do the work of three.

That became painfully clear as Rangers kept playing through Celtic and getting at the back four.

The issue with Nygren and Hogh together in games like this is not about talent.

It is about what the team loses when possession turns over.

Neither gives Celtic the kind of aggressive pressing or recovery running needed to help McGregor and Baur against a side willing to play through pressure.

Against weaker opposition, Celtic can get away with that.

At Ibrox, they could not.

Rangers were first to loose balls and quicker into challenges. Celtic looked stretched almost every time the home side broke through the first line.

That is not a small tactical detail. It changes the whole game.

There is also a recruitment problem here.

Celtic simply have not added enough quality in midfield.

McGregor is still being asked to carry too much responsibility, while Baur is still developing and should not be expected to solve everything beside him.

The squad needed another midfielder capable of covering ground, winning duels and giving Celtic control in difficult away games.

That player is not there.

When the game became physical and frantic, Celtic had no real answer.

O’Neill tried changes, but by then the damage had been done.

This cannot be treated as one of those afternoons where everything went wrong and everyone moves on.

Celtic need a tactical reset before these problems show up again.

The balance in midfield has to change. The front players have to press with more purpose. There has to be far more protection for McGregor and Baur.

And the players who started at Ibrox should be embarrassed by the level they produced.

Losing a cup tie can happen.

Being outworked, outplayed and second best for almost the entire afternoon is different.

There were too many players who looked half a yard off it from the first whistle.

That cannot be accepted at Celtic.