Celtic trophy struggle must be a wake-up call says Martin O’Neill

Interim manager Martin O’Neill says the possibility of Celtic ending the campaign without a trophy must serve as a "wake-up call" for the club.

The reigning champions face a difficult trip across Glasgow to play city rivals Rangers in a Scottish Cup quarter-final on Sunday.

O’Neill’s side have already lost the League Cup final to St Mirren and currently sit five points behind Premiership leaders Heart of Midlothian.

It has become a tight four-team race for the title involving the Jambos, the two Glasgow giants and Motherwell.

"We are miles away from winning anything," admitted O’Neill.

"The overall picture is that it should be a wake-up call for the football club."

Spoiled by recent success

The interim boss recalled the 2003 season where the club finished empty-handed despite reaching a Uefa Cup final, yet were still praised by supporters.

However, the Northern Irishman believes expectations have shifted significantly since that era.

"You could say that in recent years the fans have maybe been spoiled with no real challenges in many aspects and been able to coast home in the last six or seven games of the season," he said.

"Here, Hearts have arrived, maybe a few years before they thought they would do."

O’Neill noted that Rangers have also strengthened significantly by spending money on quality additions.

"It has been a challenge all season and certainly been a challenge in my couple of spells in here when you’re winning some matches and you’re still trying to peg teams back," he added.

"But we’re in with a chance anyway – that’s the point."

Resilience on the road

The Parkhead club showed significant character to come from two goals down to draw with Rangers in the league last Sunday.

They subsequently overtook their Ibrox rivals in the table following a victory over Aberdeen on Wednesday night.

"We’ve had three games in six days, which has been a tall order for us, all away from home," O’Neill explained.

"We withstood that, which was a great effort."

He emphasised that the victory at Pittodrie was essential to keep their competitive hopes alive.

"If we play like we did in the first half [at Ibrox], we shouldn’t turn up, but the second half gave us great confidence," he said.

"It is testament to the players’ character as much as anything else."

Cup impact on title race

Despite the high stakes of Sunday’s quarter-final, O’Neill remains unsure if the result will dictate the outcome of the Premiership.

"Naturally, taking the game on its own, it would be a big boost for us getting to the semi-final," he said.

"Will it eventually have a bearing on how the league will pan out? I don’t think it will have a serious bearing, but in terms of confidence building, of course it matters."

With tough matches ahead for all four contenders, the interim manager suggests resilience will be the deciding factor.

"I suppose if you get beaten in the game, it’s how quickly you can get over it," he concluded.