Celtic manager Martin O'Neill admits he will take stock and ponder his future after Old Firm disappointment sealed THIRD defeat in a week

Martin O’Neill revealed he planned to consider his future as Celtic manager after losing for the second time in a week to Rangers.

Second best again in the derby, the Parkhead club saw their lead at the top of the Premiership cut to two points as they went down meekly to Ryan Naderi’s first-half goal.

At the helm for one of the worst European results in the club’s history when the side capitulated 5-1 away to LASK, O’Neill has now lost three games in a row for the first time as Celtic boss with a defeat to Ferencvaros coming in between reverses to Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup and the Premiership.

The 74-year-old insists he’s got no issue with supporters questioning if he’s capable of turning the situation around – and admitted that he will consider his own suitability for the post in the international break.

‘I think they’re absolutely entitled to,’ said the veteran. ‘I’m not immune from criticism. Far from it. Absolutely.

‘I think they have every reason to ask, can you turn this round? Can you change the whole thing? We are two points clear. I have to look at the bigger picture at this minute.

‘I knew that we were in a big, big fight anyway with both ourselves, Rangers and Hearts, who are far from out of anything.

‘It’s a long season ahead. It’s not the first time I’ve been questioned about my managerial time. So, I’ll have a look at it. I will reflect and see.’

O’Neill was asked if he was hopeful that a period of self-reflection might make him more determined to bounce back stronger when Celtic return to action.

‘I genuinely will reflect and see. It’s a matter of whether I can help the team,’ he stated.

‘If that’s the case, the manager’s supposed to be able to do that. And, yeah, I will have a look at that this week.

‘I think that every single time that something crops up, things don’t go so well, age plays a part. And you know what? They may well be right, you know?

‘I’m 110 in two years’ time, so, yeah, that might be a time to wrap it up.’

Pressed on what he meant by that, the Northern Irishman said: ‘First of all, I got an opportunity to come back here last October, which I never thought would ever happen in my life. So, I’m really grateful for that.

‘And then I get the chance again in January to do it again, second time around and, as it turns out, us winning the league was like... I don’t know. I can’t remember how I felt when we won the treble away back in 2001, I must have felt really pretty good about it. But I think that game against Hearts was probably one of the great moments of my managerial time.

‘I’ve had some really, really good moments and I’ve had some pretty poor moments. That was good, I’m thankful for that. I was delighted to get that opportunity.

‘But all the time I was still thinking about whether you can still have the energy, desire, the things that I say to the boys here every Friday that we talk about. So, I’ll have a look at that. We’ll see.’

Pressed on what he intended reflecting most on, O’Neill said: ‘Well, self-reflection is looking at the games. I’ll obviously speak to the board. And, you never know, they may want to speak to me.

‘But, yeah, I’ll see. I’ve got some time to do that there. I got a short break in the summer time. So, I will try and get a couple of days away and see how it goes.’

O’Neill offered no excuses for a loss that came after another inept display.

‘I thought it was obviously a tough game. It was tough on both sides. There wasn’t much in it between the two teams,’ he said.

‘But, from our own point of view, I don’t think we created enough during the course of the 90-odd minutes. I think Kieran (Tierney) hits the bar and within 90 seconds or two minutes later, they score.

‘Maybe we could have got a goal just after half time. But in essence at home, regardless of who you’re playing, you should try and create a bit more.

‘I cannot honestly question the effort of the side, not at all. What we did do, sometimes we get into really good positions, and then either the final ball or the lead up to it was just misplaced. I think that’s something that we can definitely improve on.’

After such a dreadful period, O’Neill acknowledged that it’s only right that people question the credentials of him and his coaching staff.

‘Listen, we’ve lost some big games. There’s no question about it,’ he said. 'I personally think every game here is big.

‘We lost a European game on Thursday. We lost the big match out in LASK. And, here, two defeats against us. Of course, you have to question it.’