Celtic 4 Killie 0: Instant reaction to the burning issues

There was some controversy yet again off the park as a section of the Celtic support disrupted the moment of silence prior to the game on this Remembrance Sunday, an outcome almost as predictable as the comfortable victory that their team registered on the field of play.

Here are the talking points from Celtic Park…

O’Neill has enhanced his Celtic legacy

If this is to be O’Neill’s swansong after answering the call to steady the Celtic ship following the departure of Brendan Rodgers, then it was fitting that his team put on a bit of a show to win it handily, sending him off into the sunset with his legacy enhanced, if anything, and with the warm gratitude of everyone involved in the club. Probably the only area where they would find agreement.

He lifted the players and the team to win three domestic games from three, including that memorable League Cup semi-final triumph over Rangers, and while not even he could compensate for the glaring deficiencies of this squad as they were outclassed by FC Midtjylland during the week, at least he was able to keep their hopes of success on the home front ticking along.

He did so almost by the force of his personality alone, and while Shaun Maloney too deserves credit for doing the heavy lifting on the tactical side of things, it was O’Neill’s light humour and motivational abilities that the players touched upon most when assessing the impact of the interim duo.

He would always have been a legend around these parts in any case, and whatever happens from here, he can look back on another job well done at Celtic, even if it was a very different one to the first time around.

Reo Hatate latest to be reborn?

One of the notable features of O’Neill’s time in charge is how he has managed to get a tune out of players who were struggling for confidence and form, like Maeda, and wring performances from those who Rodgers ignored altogether, like Callum Osmand.

One wondered in fact if he would be able to perform a similar job on Hatate, who has been underperforming and looking out of sorts all season.

Initially, O’Neill dropped him out of the team, but he handed him an opportunity here, and he did look far brighter than he has done for the majority of the campaign.

Gone was the wastefulness in possession that used to have Rodgers frequently tearing his hair out, and back was the inventiveness and spark that had Celtic fans expecting they might bank big money for the midfielder not so long ago.

The challenge for Hatate will be to maintain that version of himself, and not slip into his old bad habits, when O’Neill departs.

Another injury, but Tierney starts to go through the gears

It wouldn’t be a Celtic game these days without an injury scare or two, and it was left back Marcelo Saracchi who was the unfortunate soul this time, limping off during the first half.

Thankfully, he didn’t have a half-bad understudy on the day, with Tierney coming on and just showing some signs that he is slowly clicking through the gears and getting somewhere towards the levels everyone expected from him when he made an emotional return to the club in the summer.

He capped off a dynamic performance with a belter of a goal, picking the ball up from a loose Liam Scales touch, getting his head up and unleashing a powerful low effort across goal that Killie keeper Eddie Beach got nowhere near as it lasered into the opposite bottom corner.

It was Tierney’s first goal for the club since he scored in a 2-1 win over RB Leipzig seven years ago this month, and this performance as a whole was a bit of a throwback to what every Celtic fan knows him to be capable of.

Robbie Deas the fall guy again as Killie concede cheaply again and again

The Killie defender has been outstanding over the piece since signing on at Rugby Park, but he has been having a poor time of it of late, and he was again at fault here as Celtic opened the scoring.

Quite what he was thinking as he tried to cut out Hatate’s low cutback, only he could tell you. He seemed to get ahead of the ball, tried to readjust his feet, and succeeded only in tripping over it to present it straight back to the Celtic midfielder. A second later, Kenny had tapped it home, and Killie had a mountain to climb.

They never looked like doing so, and it is little wonder that they have been on a worrying run of form with the sort of defending they exhibited here. Tierney’s goal, for example, was a great strike, but Stuart Kettlewell will be furious at the time he was afforded to pick his spot.

The daft penalty concession from James Brown on Yang Hyunjun towards the end just put the tin lid on it, and Kettlewell and Killie have so much work to do over the international break before what looks like a huge game for the manager – ironically, against his former club Motherwell - upon their return to action.

David Watson catches the eye at least

While not wishing him to play too well, there would have been many among the Celtic support keeping a keen eye on the performance of Killie’s midfielder after reports that their club may look to prise him away from Rugby Park in January.

Even in defeat for his side, they would likely have been quite impressed by what they saw, particularly in his ability to drive his team forward with his strong running through the centre of the park.

Twice in the first half he led the charge towards the Celtic area, and Kasper Schmeichel was forced into an impressive stop as Watson teed up Scott Tiffoney, and his deflected shot looked to be looping over his head before he got a glove up to divert it over.

All in all, Watson was up against it in the midfield, with Celtic’s three of Callum McGregor, Luke McCowan and an improved Hatate having a firm grip of proceedings. But on the rare occasions he had an opportunity to show what he was all about, he managed to do so.