Former Man Utd coach praises Hearts but expects key Celtic decision to be 'difference' in Scottish title race
The former Sir Alex Ferguson aide believes the Jambos have done ‘extremely well’ thus far.
Former Fulham gaffer and Manchester United Assistant Coach, Rene Meulensteen has assessed Hearts’ chances of winning this season’s Scottish Premiership title.
After over four decades of Celtic and Rangers going back and forth in terms of league glory, Derek McInnes has a chance to break the Old Firm mould, with his Jambos side currently sitting six points ahead of both their Glaswegian title rivals.
As Hearts have been dealt not one, but two huge injury blows in the form of Cammy Devlin and Lawrence Shankland, the timing could not be worse ahead of an important run of fixtures, which includes Celtic and Hibs at home and Rangers away in their next five. Meulensteen has been impressed with the Gorgie side so far this season, but is questioning whether they’ll have enough to ‘sustain’ a title challenge, due to a key Old Firm decision.
O’Neill ‘effect’ could hurt Jambos
Meulensteen admits that Hearts have been strong but believes the experience and know-how of 73-year old Celtic boss, Martin O’Neill could prove pivotal against a Jambos side mostly containing personnel who have never been in this position before.
He told Casinostugan: “for Celtic. Is that the Martin O’Nell effect? No, that’s the Celtic effect. Of course, Rangers are only six points off Hearts and I think Hearts have done extremely well. I just don’t think they will be able to sustain it because the gap is not big enough and they will drop points.
“Both Rangers and Celtic could overtake them but it’s going to be an interesting one because it might end up being the closest run-in we’ve seen up in Scotland for years. I do think that Martin O'Neill and Celtic’s experience of winning leagues will eventually make the difference.”
New Man U boss should take notes from O’Neill
Meulensteen, who spent over decade at Old Trafford undertaking various coaching roles, believes new boss Michael Carrick can take some pointers from O’Neill and drew similarities between the pair. Carrick took over from former Scotland International, Darren Fletcher, who was interim boss following Ruben Amorim’s sacking.
He continued: “I rate Martin O’Neill and he’s got a great career as a manager and what he's done at Celtic shows what kind of an impact he can have. His experience shining through. He’s calmed things down, put the right players in the right spot, played the right system and off you go.
“Does Carrick need to come in and do what Martin has done at Celtic? That’s exactly it. United’s players aren’t bad. Be clear on what you want, especially with the defensive side of things. The defensive structure needs to be better. These are non-negotiables.”