McCowan insists Celtic players need to perform regardless of who the manager is

Luke McCowan believes the identity of the Celtic manager should have no bearing on the standard of the team’s performance throughout the remainder of the season.

Martin O’Neill’s fourth match in interim charge ended in a resounding four-goal win over Kilmarnock which ensured the team went into the international break just seven points behind leaders Hearts with a game in hand.

The 73-year-old said he expected to know more about what the short-term future looked like later this week - yet didn’t commit to staying on in the event he was asked to do so.

Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna, Bodo/Glimt boss Kjetil Knutsen, Columbus Crew’s Wilfried Nancy and Robbie Keane, now the boss at Ferencvaros, are among the front runners to succeed Brendan Rodgers on a permanent basis.

But despite the current uncertainty, midfielder McCowan insists that the squad has no excuse for not adhering to the standard they’ve shown in winning both league matches under O’Neill by a four-goal margin.

‘I know Cal’s (Callum McGregor) obviously said it previously as well, but the people that can affect games, it’s the players mainly,’ said the 27-year-old.

‘All of us guys know that it’s us that are on the pitch, regardless of who’s in charge, and we need to put good performances.

‘Obviously, different managers come in with slightly different styles here and there, whatever it may be.

‘But we just know the positive performances come from us first. The attitude comes from us, the mentality comes from us, so we just need to keep pushing that. I’m sure if we do, we’ll keep charging on and hopefully get more positive results like Sunday.’

With all the leading candidates currently in jobs, there’s an expectation that powerbroker Dermot Desmond will ask O’Neill to remain in charge for longer.

Although O’Neill said his spell in charge ‘had been tough’ at the weekend, he previously intimated that he’d be interested in taking the team for the League Cup Final with St Mirren on December 14.

And if that’s the case, McCowan says the players would be firmly behind the move.

‘It’s Martin O’Neill at the end of the day,’ he added. ‘He’s got that aura and brings that motivating factor of what it means to play for this club, as did the previous manager as well.

‘He just brings that different kind of speech before a game and just puts full belief in everybody that’s in a squad and is really, really forward with everybody as well.

‘He doesn’t make you think anything. He just tells you how it is.

‘The guys know in the dressing room that they are all valued and we need to use that because the season’s long and, as you’re seeing, left, right and centre, we’re getting injuries everywhere and it’s about squad players coming up and stepping up when they can.’

McCowan was asked if O’Neill gave any indication if he’d still be in change when Celtic next face St Mirren in Paisley on November 22.

‘No, not at all,’ he replied. ‘He was just in the present, that’s the way he is. Whatever he sees in front of him, that’s what he’s talking about. 

'It was just giving Yang (Hyun-jun) a lot of plaudits for getting that final penalty. That was the main thing.’

A lifelong Celtic supporter, McCowan said the last couple of weeks working under O’Neill have been somewhat surreal.

‘I thought I was in a time machine,’ he smiled.

‘It’s kind of been like that even like Jota coming back as well and Kieran (Tierney) coming back.

‘You’re kind of like ‘what the heck’s going on here?’

‘And when he came in, all I could think about was the UEFA Cup final, what did he say in the dressing room?

‘And lucky enough, I could just ask Shaun (Maloney). But no, it’s been amazing. As I said, he’s got that aura and almost legendary status at this club.

‘So, fair play to him coming back and helping us out when we kind of needed it.’