Unfair situation dragging Martin O'Neill deeper & deeper into Celtic vortex || Stephen McGowan "O’Neill has become a human shield for the men who really run the club. A pinata for supporters who never hear a word from the people who should be answering the pressing questions over recruitment, ambition and the lack of communication and engagement. "The only member of the Celtic management who ever raises his head above the parapet, the Northern Irishman could have gone another way on the Desmond issue. "A simple, ‘I’m here to talk about the football’ would have sent media colleagues veering off in search of a headline elsewhere. "Instead, the veteran boss harked back to sepia-tinged memories of a time when club and fanbase aligned in perfect sympatico. “'I don’t agree at all with what happened at St Andrews,' he said. 'That’s not Celtic. The days of having 80,000 people in Seville [at the UEFA Cup final in 2003] without an arrest – that’s Celtic to me.' "If Celtic were still competing in the latter stages of European competitions, there would be none of the unrest being seen now. They go to Benfica on Thursday night and, despite a much improved performance in Motherwell, supporters still expect to spend the game watching from behind a sofa. "Their record in UEFA club competitions – where they regularly lose to smaller clubs with lower budgets – is the reason so many are in a state of open revolt now. And O’Neill is being dragged deeper and deeper into a vortex not of his making." 👇 𝘐𝘔𝘈𝘎𝘌: 𝘈𝘯𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘸 𝘔𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘢𝘯/𝘗𝘈 𝘞𝘪𝘳𝘦/𝘗𝘈 𝘐𝘮𝘢𝘨𝘦𝘴