Martin O’Neill admitted Celtic were made to work hard for their fifth consecutive Scottish Premiership victory after coming from behind to defeat St Mirren 2-1 in Paisley.
Celtic maintained their perfect start to the league season with Liam Scales cancelling out Nikolas Agrafiotis’ first-half penalty before Yang Hyun-jun struck the winner in the 68th minute.
However, O’Neill was keen to stress that the result did not tell the full story of an evening in which St Mirren caused his side significant problems.
“I don’t know whether it was [an entertaining game] or not,” O’Neill said after the match.
“St Mirren did not surprise me at all, not in the least. They were really up for it.
“They played very, very well indeed, caused us plenty of problems and took the lead. I just thought there was a 10 or 15-minute spell in the first half where we were well and truly second best.
“The determination in the second half got us the equalising goal and we went on to win it, but it was a tough evening for us.”
St Mirren’s positive approach earned them the lead when Agrafiotis converted from the penalty spot, while Celtic were later frustrated after a goal from Camilo Duran was ruled out following a lengthy VAR check.
The delay was one of several moments involving the technology that tested the patience of those inside the stadium, with O’Neill admitting VAR has fundamentally changed the way managers and players react when the ball hits the back of the net.
“You just cannot celebrate. That’s the first thing you think,” he said.
“When we thought we’d scored the goal in the first half, I thought, well, that must be a goal. Then for it to be ruled offside, you just cannot celebrate.
“That goes for every manager and every coaching staff. You just can’t do it until it’s finally decided.”
Celtic’s response after the interval impressed their manager, with Scales powering home the equaliser before Yang completed the turnaround with a composed finish.
O’Neill was particularly enthusiastic when discussing Scales, whose value to the Celtic squad he believes cannot be overstated.
“I love Scales. I think he’s great,” O’Neill said.
“Last week Liam went and played left-back, but he’s a centre-half and yet we’re asking him almost to play like a wide left-sided player at times. That is not him, but he has got a massive heart.
“The couple of times I’ve been here, he’s been absolutely fantastic. Really, really fantastic.
“I said to him after the last game we played, I don’t know what the club would do without him.”
Duran was unable to add his name to the scoresheet after his first-half effort was ruled out, but he played a decisive role in Celtic’s winner.
The Colombian forward released Yang with a perfectly weighted pass, allowing the South Korean to race through and finish beyond Jacob Chapman.
O’Neill felt Duran was beginning to tire when he was substituted but praised his contribution to the decisive moment.
“I thought he looked a wee bit tired towards the end, hence taking him off,” he said. “He’s a really good player and I was glad he was making the pass through.
“Yang still has to put the ball in the net.”
Yang’s winner capped an impressive run of form for the winger, who will now leave Celtic to join up with South Korea.
O’Neill admitted he will miss the forward, jokingly catching himself after initially suggesting he hoped South Korea would suffer an early exit before explaining why he wants Yang to enjoy a successful international campaign.
“We are going to miss him. He’s in really fine form at the moment,” O’Neill said.
“If they don’t win the tournament, then he has to do military service, you know. So I hope they do win it.
“But, yeah, he signed off with a brilliant goal. He’s in great form and he’ll work for you going backwards. He doesn’t mind doing that hard graft.”
O’Neill also discussed the contributions of Celtic’s newer players, with Haissem Hassan among those to feature as the manager continues to assess the depth and potential of his squad.
The Celtic boss believes there are still unknown quantities among his new arrivals, regardless of the analysis carried out before they were brought to Glasgow.
“We’ve got a couple of players that, deep down, you don’t really know exactly what they can do,” he said.
“Of course, we’ve studied them and got the information, but until they’re thrown into these games, you don’t really know.”
Asked specifically about Hassan, O’Neill highlighted the winger’s ability in one-on-one situations while acknowledging there is still work to be done as he adapts to the physical demands of the Scottish game.
“One-v-ones, he can beat players all day long or all night long,” O’Neill said.
“He needs to get up to speed. He’s been doing a little bit of training on his own, but he’s a handful. Definitely a handful.
“He needs to get up to speed and he obviously needs to do a bit more work going backwards, like everything else.”
Ultimately, though, O’Neill’s strongest praise was reserved for St Mirren.
Despite Celtic leaving Paisley with all three points and extending their winning run to five matches, the manager felt Craig McLeish’s side had demonstrated how much they have improved.
“It’s easy to be magnanimous now that you’ve won the game, but I thought they caused us plenty of problems,” he said.
“I thought they tried to play, which was great, and they just looked a totally different outfit from a team that was struggling last season.”
Celtic may have maintained their perfect record and their position at the top of the Premiership, but O’Neill’s assessment was measured.
Next up for Celtic is a trip to Perth to face St Johnstone while St Mirren travel to Ibrox to face Rangers.
Callum McFadden 