Martin O’Neill says Celtic must be ready to change shape during matches if their first plan is not working.

Celtic have been linked closely with a 4-3-3 setup for years, but O’Neill does not want his players locked into one way of playing if a match turns against them.

Our Celtic manager page covers his record and background.

O’Neill was asked about changing shape and whether Celtic could move away from their usual setup when needed.

He said: (Celtic FC YouTube), “Well, we only changed during the course of the game for a little while in the Rangers game, but the football club has had 4-3-3 for quite some considerable time with a lot of considerable success as well too.

“But I’ve often said here that you have to make adjustments during the course of a game. If you feel that some other plan might work, then you should be comfortable enough in doing that.

“And this is the whole point. I think if you practice them often enough, I think it might go back to the people talking about plan A and plan B.

“If you feel that plan A is not working, you should be able to have something else up your sleeve.”

If Celtic cannot keep the ball after winning it back, the striker can become cut off and the midfield ends up chasing runners instead of setting the tempo.

That is where a change in shape can help, whether it means giving the full-backs more protection or getting another body closer to the centre-forward.

Celtic lost their opening Europa League match against Ferencvaros, so Lisbon is not a place where O’Neill can afford his side to look stuck if Benfica start finding gaps.