Celtic's Unsteady Victory in Perth: O'Neill's Tactical Challenges

Martin O’Neill left Perth with three points and a furrowed brow.

Celtic’s 100% start in the Scottish Premiership remains intact – six wins from six now – but this was no swaggering stroll from the champions. They edged past St Johnstone thanks to Mika Baur’s first goal for the club, yet the performance raised almost as many questions as it answered for a manager trying to reshape his side on the fly.

A night of experiments – and uncertainty

O’Neill rang the changes at McDiarmid Park. Sam Johnstone, on loan from Wolves, came in for his debut in goal. Oliver Sorensen was handed a first Celtic start in midfield. Dane Murray got a rare outing at centre-back. Sebastian Tounekti and Kasper Hogh were recalled to the front line.

If this was supposed to be the night the veteran coach learned more about his supporting cast as he “juggles” players and positions, the lesson was muddled.

“I’m not sure what to make of it, really,” he admitted to BBC Sport Scotland after Baur’s strike decided it. Speaking to Sky Sports, he was even blunter: “We’re still well short of it.”

That will concern him with a season-defining spell about to crash into view. Ferencvaros visit in the Europa League on Thursday. Rangers await twice in quick succession – first in the Premier Sports Cup on Sunday, then in the league a week later. A “mammoth week”, and O’Neill knows he has issues to iron out fast.

A surprise omission that backfired

For all the looming glamour ties, O’Neill was adamant this game mattered most in the here and now. The title defence, he stressed, remains the priority. That made his five changes feel even bolder. One in particular jarred.

Camilo Duran, Celtic’s early-season talisman, started on the bench.

Pre-match talk had revolved around how O’Neill might fit both Duran and Hogh into the same XI – twin strikers, or Duran shunted wide? Almost nobody contemplated the Colombian being left out altogether.

It is hard to imagine that happening again.

“Our main man only came on in the last 10 or 15 minutes, so it gives you food for thought,” O’Neill said after his side failed to build on Baur’s breakthrough, despite a late surge.

Duran’s impact in recent weeks has been obvious. “He’s just been class,” O’Neill said. The manager felt the forward had looked tired in the previous game, hardly a shock given the relentless work he produces both in possession and out of it. Only Daizen Maeda, now gone, has matched him for closing down from the front.

So O’Neill tried to see if Celtic could cope without him.

“The answer is probably not.”

The danger now is clear. As brilliant as Duran has been, Celtic cannot afford to become as reliant on him as they once were on Maeda. But every time he sits out, the team’s energy and edge seem to drain away.

Hogh’s struggle for service

If Duran is all chaos and constant motion, Hogh is the penalty-box predator. A poacher. On this evidence, he needs a very different kind of game to thrive.

With the service from the flanks badly misfiring, the Dane was left feeding on scraps. Before half-time he touched the ball just twice inside the box. His frustration grew with every attack that fizzled out wide, every run that went unnoticed.

O’Neill did not spare his record signing entirely. “You just can’t put the ball on a plate for people,” he told Sky Sports. “They have to make room for themselves in the penalty box to try and score a goal.”

The implication was clear: the crosses weren’t good enough, but Hogh must also be more proactive, more demanding, more ruthless in finding space.

Wing woes and a stark comparison

Celtic also felt the absence of Yang Hyun-jun, whose sparkling start to the season has given their attack a different dimension. In his place, Tounekti struggled badly to convince.

The drop-off in confidence, quality and delivery on the right was glaring. At half-time, former Scotland forward James McFadden summed up the winger’s display on Sky Sports as “safe”.

“He likes to come inside, that’s pretty positive until the last part,” McFadden said. The problem, he argued, lies in Tounekti’s starting positions – always in the defender’s eye-line, always easy to track.

“He’s frustrating to watch because he’s quick and sharp with good feet, but he’s desperate to come inside and never wants to take the risk of going down the outside.”

Time and again in that first half, Hogh peeled away into space, only to see the ball recycled or carried into traffic instead. The pattern became as predictable as it was infuriating for Celtic’s centre-forward.

On paper, the tweaks made sense. In practice, they left the champions looking exactly like what they were: a team with five changes, still trying to find its rhythm.

St Johnstone make them work for it

This was not a case of Celtic shadow-boxing against a passive opponent either. St Johnstone made four changes of their own, including a first start for Joe Cotterill and a debut for on-loan Hibs midfielder Josh Campbell.

Cotterill forced Johnstone into a superb save, underlining that the new Celtic goalkeeper at least passed his first serious test.

Sorensen, by contrast, barely left a mark. Before kick-off, O’Neill had admitted he “had no idea” what the midfielder was capable of. Ninety minutes later, he may still be wondering. The game seemed to drift around the Dane rather than through him.

The decision to leave both Duran and Benjamin Nygren on the bench from the start felt risky, given their goal threat. Nygren eventually replaced Sorensen with just over 20 minutes to play, and the pair at least banked some rest before Rangers roll into view.

The gamble, just about, paid off. Baur struck early in the second half, Celtic held on, and the table still makes happy reading.

A perfect record, an imperfect team

O’Neill’s verdict cut through the noise. “I know the results have been fine, really fine, but when we get players up to speed, that’ll be great,” he said. He expects that process to take “a few weeks” yet.

In the meantime? “The most important thing is to try and keep your head above water.”

Six wins from six suggests Celtic are doing far more than that. Yet the performance in Perth hinted at a squad still being assembled in real time, a team winning while not quite knowing itself.

Now comes Ferencvaros. Then Rangers. Twice.

If this is Celtic with their head above water, what happens when O’Neill finally gets everyone up to speed?