Chris Sutton hails Martin O’Neill’s ‘eat your words’ masterclass after Celtic doubters waved the white flag

Chris Sutton has backed Martin O’Neill after the Celtic manager silenced his doubters by inspiring a much-needed revival in the club’s Europa League campaign.

O’Neill’s decision to make several changes to his starting line-up for the must-win encounter with Turkish side Besiktas on Thursday night raised plenty of eyebrows, with attacking duo Camilo Duran and Callum Osmand among the players surprisingly named on the bench.

The Irishman’s selection prompted criticism from sections of the Celtic support, with many questioning whether O’Neill had weakened his team for such an important European fixture.

However, Sutton revealed that he understood the concerns surrounding the line-up but chose not to publicly criticise the experienced manager.

Reflecting on the reaction in his Daily Record column, the former Celtic striker explained that he had seen numerous messages suggesting O’Neill had effectively surrendered the club’s European ambitions before kick-off.

He said: “Martin O’Neill has chucked it. The Celtic team sheet is more like a white flag. He’s given up the ghost in Europe. Those were just some of the messages that lit up my phone when the team was announced for Besiktas the other night.

“I might have had similar feelings but I didn’t respond because I know football has a funny habit of biting you on the backside. And Martin O’Neill has a funny way of making folk eat their words. Turns out I was right to withhold judgement.”

Sutton has sympathy for Lotomba after difficult Besiktas debut

Meanwhile, Sutton has come out in support of summer signing Jordan Lotomba following the right-back’s challenging introduction to the starting line-up against Besiktas.

The full-back was selected by O’Neill for Celtic’s thrilling 3-2 victory at Parkhead, having had limited opportunities since completing a surprise move to Glasgow late in the summer transfer window.

However, Lotomba faced a difficult evening on his first competitive start against a dangerous Besiktas attack, with Leandro Trossard providing a particularly challenging test for the Swiss defender.

Despite his struggles, Sutton insists Latomba should not be made a scapegoat for his performance, pointing instead to the difficult circumstances surrounding his arrival and lack of match fitness.

“I actually had some sympathy for the full-back,” he wrote. “He’s clearly not fully up to speed, having arrived looking like he’d been on a three-month all-inclusive holiday over the summer.

“It’s a tough first start, against a team like Besiktas and being asked to do a job on a guy like Leandro Trossard. I thought Arsenal were daft to let him go and he showed his quality the other night.”

Sutton believes Celtic's recruitment strategy must also come under scrutiny, arguing that Lotomba should not carry the responsibility for the problems created by the club's late transfer activity.

He added: “Lotomba was up against it and it was a difficult evening. But he’s not the one to blame for the malfunctioning transfer setup that saw him arrive in the final days of the window. It’s a bit unfair to slaughter him.”

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