After seeking to avoid the appearance of a “Robin Hood” figure on Sunday, Martin O’Neill assumed a different mantle as teacher on Thursday.
The Celtic interim manager cut a frustrated figure on the sidelines in Denmark, witnessing a dominant Midtjylland side deliver a resounding lesson to the Scottish champions.
Despite the final scoreline reflecting only a two-goal deficit, the 73-year-old conceded that “it could have been any sort of score” against the team currently topping the Europa League table.
A blistering eight-minute spell in the first half saw Celtic concede three goals, leaving them struggling to regain composure.
The three goals conceded were, in some respects, generous, as Midtjylland registered nine shots on target and a further six off target.
For those invested in the Glasgow club’s fortunes, it was a stark return to reality. O’Neill had briefly managed to build momentum and quell the numerous issues surrounding the club, but only temporarily.
“The goals that we conceded weren’t good,” he stated in the aftermath of his first defeat since returning to the club.
“It sounds from here as if I’m like a teacher telling them, but I will try and teach them the game as quickly as possible.”
Following Sunday’s League Cup semi-final victory over Rangers in extra time, O’Neill remarked that he felt 20 years older.
The arduous evening in Denmark would not have alleviated that feeling.
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Barely a month prior, O’Neill had observed Midtjylland disrupt Nottingham Forest’s return to European competition with a captivating 3-2 encounter.
The experienced manager stated that he had taken note of that performance against his former club and anticipated a physical encounter with “a very, very good side”.
While he may have heeded Forest’s shortcomings, his players appeared not to have done so.
Mikel Kruger-Johnsen scored a sublime second goal, but the two goals either side of it were less spectacular, yet Celtic were unable to prevent them.
Anthony Ralston failed to intercept Kruger-Johnsen’s routine clipped ball to the back post for the opening goal, before the teenager wove his way through for the second.
As a team, Celtic failed to clear their lines from a throw-in, leading to the hosts’ third goal.
“In terms of defending, I’ve just said to the players in there, some things change in the game, other things don’t change,” O’Neill explained.
“Once a winger takes you on at full-back, you’ve got to stop him from getting into the penalty area. You have to engage him before he gets there, because once he gets in there, then he’s as safe as anything.
“Then in the second goal, we had a 2v2 situation, and we allowed the player just to come inside and bend it into the net.
“So from our viewpoint, not good defending, really.”
The fact that O’Neill needed to explain the concessions in such basic terms speaks volumes, and damningly so.
While Midtjylland were impressive, Celtic did not exactly make them work hard for their goals.
“The third goal almost puts it beyond you, so was I surprised? I don’t know whether I was surprised [or] disappointed, just disappointed in the concession of the goals,” the Northern Irishman added.
“I think just to play football at the top level, not only do you need ability, but you need mentality, and mentality sometimes overrides ability as well.
“It sounds from here as if I’m like a teacher telling them, but I will try and teach them the game as quickly as possible.
“Things that they may already know, may need reminding, maybe they don’t know, and it’s my job to try and improve the football club.”
The overarching question remains: how long will O’Neill have to improve Celtic?
His return, alongside assistant Shaun Maloney, had initially brought back a sense of optimism, but that was always going to be limited.
The amusement surrounding O’Neill’s matchday attire has dissipated, while Celtic’s deep-seated issues have resurfaced in stark fashion.
Captain Callum McGregor was central to the celebratory mood on Sunday, scoring in the extra-time victory, but he was quick to emphasize that no one had gotten carried away.
“Nothing’s been solved after a really good game at the weekend,” the midfielder said after the defeat in Denmark. “We know that we don’t get too up or too down.
“We come away here against a really good side, a good club, who do a lot of good things and they know what they are.
“There’s a lot of growth still left in our team as well. We know where we are and we know where we want to get to.”
It appears Celtic are far from their desired destination, and the task of getting them there is immense.
On a sobering night, it is not the interim manager who will bear the brunt of the criticism, nor even the players he is tasked with teaching.
It is the board, who had managed to temporarily quell the unrest directed at them, who will once again feel the pressure.
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