Martin O’Neill believes there is no reason Celtic’s two new forwards cannot play in the same team, even if it means moving away from the system that has served the club well in recent seasons.
Camilo Duran and Kasper Hogh remain Celtic’s only summer signings so far as the Premiership campaign gets underway this weekend, with supporters eager to see how the pair fit into O’Neill’s plans.
Duran has already offered an early glimpse of what he can bring. The Colombian struck three goals in three pre-season appearances, catching the eye with his relentless work rate and willingness to stretch defences.
Hogh, meanwhile, was officially unveiled on Tuesday and is available for Monday night’s league opener against Dundee. The club record signing arrives with plenty of expectation, and naturally there has been discussion over how O’Neill intends to use two players who are most comfortable leading the line.
Speaking to Celtic Player, the Celtic manager made it clear he sees no issue with finding a way to get both into the side.
“I would think that given the time, that the two players should be able to play together without a problem.
“I don’t know whether that means changing systems, changing all that type of stuff, but, you know, they’re good players.”
O’Neill also addressed Duran’s ability to drift into wider areas, although he admitted that is not where he ultimately sees the 24-year-old making his biggest impact.
“Yes, break off wide as well too, so that’s encouraging. I’m not so sure that that’s eventually where I want him to play.
“We might have to do that for the time being. But I see him being able to play as a striker or just off the striker.”
That flexibility could prove important over the course of the season. Celtic have been firmly associated with a 4-3-3 shape for years, but O’Neill insisted formations should never become restrictive if the personnel on the pitch demand something different.
Drawing on his first spell in charge, he pointed to how his side regularly adapted depending on the opposition and the circumstances of the match.
“I know that we played a sort of a 3-5-2 for a lot of times, but then we changed it when some teams cottoned on to it, in European matches as well too. And then we ended up changing to 4-4-2. We played that very, very often. But we had serious running power wide, which was great in those days.
“If it meant us having to adjust to get them to play together, that shouldn’t be a problem. Famous last words, but it shouldn’t be.
“And this is the point. We should be able to adapt. We’ve played this 4-3-3 system for quite some considerable time. It’s been successful, which is fine, but we should be able to adapt during the course of the game. It’s only a matter of changing people 10 yards in, 10 yards out.
“There’s not much more than that.”
Those comments suggest O’Neill is thinking beyond a fixed starting formation. If Duran is capable of operating just behind the striker or drifting into wider positions when needed, it gives Celtic another option without sacrificing attacking threat.
The manager also confirmed in his media conference that Celtic rejected a bid from West Ham United for Arne Engels, while acknowledging Everton’s interest in Alistair Johnston. Despite that speculation, he expects both players to be involved against Dundee on Monday night.
Whether O’Neill starts with Duran and Hogh together from the first whistle is another question. What is clear is that he has no intention of limiting himself to one system if he believes it prevents Celtic from getting their best attacking players onto the pitch.
