Martin O’Neill has explained why he apologised to fourth official Colin Steven after a touchline flashpoint during Celtic’s 7-1 win over Hearts.

The Celtic boss was unhappy in the first half after Hearts pulled a goal back through Laurent Mendy to make it 4-1.

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Celtic were already well in control by that point, but O’Neill’s reaction showed he was still demanding proper focus from his side and from the officials.

The Hearts goal did not change the outcome, with Celtic quickly restoring their four-goal lead before half-time through Jamie McCart’s own goal.

But O’Neill was still asked about his frustration after the match.

Speaking to The Scotsman, he said: “I apologised to the fourth official. I apologised because I thought the referee allowed the ball to be taken 20 yards further up the field.

“That’s the problem with the multi-balls, and when the multi-balls don’t go in your favour, then you’re not happy. When they go in your favour, you don’t say a word.

“But they scored the goal from that, and I just thought it was a rather large distance.

“I’m going to check it on the on the game again, but it was a large distance, and I’ve apologised to the fourth official.”

It was a small moment in a game Celtic dominated, but it said something about O’Neill’s mood on the touchline.

Even at 4-0 up, he was not willing to let standards slip.

Kieran Tierney, Benjamin Nygren and McCart’s own goal had already put Hearts under heavy pressure before the break.

Mendy’s goal briefly gave Hearts something to cling to, but Celtic killed that quickly and went on to score seven.

O’Neill will be far more pleased with the performance than annoyed by the flashpoint, but his reaction showed he was still watching every detail.