There is no clear vision as to where Celtic are heading under Martin O’Neill, with defeats on the pitch not helping matters, as well as unrest off it.

Amidst all of this, to the surprise of many Celtic supporters, O’Neill, alongside several board members, including Michael Nicholson, appeared at a recent meeting with a fan group.

O’Neill met with Greenock Supporters’ Club, where they were seemingly put under the microscope of ‘hard but fair’ questions, according to Celtic’s official website.

However, ahead of Celtic’s Europa League clash against Beşiktaş, O’Neill told his press conference that, while the questions were ‘fair’, they weren’t ‘hard’, as suggested, but more ‘straightforward.’

Martin O’Neill provides insight into meeting with Greenock Supporters’ Club

This meeting came as a surprise to O’Neill himself, because he shared that he found out about it ‘until the 11th hour.’

Let’s be honest, this isn’t a surprise, because many Celtic fans know that the club’s communication as a whole is pretty poor.

Many topics of discussion were on the table from the meeting, including the club’s current form, off-field protests, as well as Celtic’s long-term vision.

The fact that O’Neill wanted to personally be at the meeting to ‘experience’ how the supporters are currently feeling is a plus.

Whatever happens, O’Neill is a Celtic legend, and that will never change, regardless of whether current results continue to head towards the wrong direction.

But while Celtic themselves felt the line of questioning from supporters was rather tough, O’Neill saw it differently, and perhaps that is more to do with his character, more than anything else.

Gordon Duncan: “Martin, the club announced that you went along to see a supporters’ club. You and members of the board. I wonder how that was for an experience for you?”

O’Neill: “I wanted to go to it. I didn’t know about it until the 11th hour. Just wanted to go down to it. Essentially, experience what the supporters are feeling, and see what we can do about it.”

Duncan: “They said the questioning was ‘hard, but fair’; I wondered what elements you found ‘hard’? What were the main gripes?”

O’Neill: “No, the questions, I think, are straightforward. I think you would know what they would be. I think they were fair, absolutely. I think the board as a whole tried to answer them as honestly as they possibly could.

“I don’t think anything surprised me at all. I think the questions that they were asking, the board would have been expecting those questions to be asked, and obviously hoping to answer them in the best possible manner or as honestly as they could.”