Martin O’Neill has insisted he agrees with Callum McGregor’s concerns about Celtic’s attacking structure, while warning against suggestions of a division between the captain and his manager.

O’Neill has now addressed those comments directly, acknowledging that Callum Osmand and Camilo Durán are more naturally suited to playing through the middle.

Our Celtic manager page covers his record and background.

Speaking to Clyde 1 Superscoreboard on Friday, the Celtic boss said:

“Yeah, well, I’ve said this to you before, so I totally agree. Totally agree that Osmand is actually really a centre-forward.

“I’ve said this at the press conference, that he is essentially a centre-forward. He probably would play off somebody strong alongside him. Not so sure that he could lead the line on his own.

“And that Duran is really a centre-forward.”

Celtic started Wednesday’s match with Kasper Høgh through the middle and Osmand and Durán occupying the wide attacking positions.

The Hoops struggled during the opening 45 minutes, with O’Neill introducing natural wingers Jota and Haissem Hassan at half-time.

Both made an impact as Celtic recovered from 2-1 down to secure a point.

McGregor subsequently acknowledged that the squad were struggling to establish consistent positional roles, raising questions about the team’s overall structure.

O’Neill accepted his captain’s assessment but insisted the problems would be addressed.

“So, yeah, the players are getting to know each other. It’s really as simple as that there. So I’m in total agreement with Callum.

“Yeah, we’ll sort it out. We’ll sort it out. We seem to be doing okay domestically, trying to sort it out.”

The manager also suggested that some of Celtic’s less frequently used players would receive opportunities in the coming weeks.

He referenced Jordan Lotomba’s limited involvement and confirmed that young defender Joël van den Berg had trained on Friday.

However, he defended his willingness to use players outside their preferred positions, pointing to Osmand’s previous impact against Benfica.

“Players have played out of position before.

“Don’t know whether it was a big issue when young Osmand came on in the Benfica game and set us alight.

“Don’t try and throw a lot of divides in at the end of the day. We’re doing fine.”

Celtic travel to Falkirk on Sunday looking to return to winning ways after dropping points against Dundee United.

The next team selection will offer an indication of whether O’Neill intends to restore natural width from the start or continue using his attacking options in different positions.