Richard Dunne worked with O'Neill for a season down south at Aston Villa in the late noughties

Former Republic of Ireland star Richard Dunne thinks Celtic look "a bit lost" under Martin O'Neill.

The champions blew the chance to move seven points clear of rivals Rangers at the weekend by going down 2-0 at Falkirk on Sunday. Rangers were in Premier Sports Cup semi-final action on Saturday and can now cut the gap at the top of the Premiership to table to just one point by winning their game in hand.

The defeat comes on the back of Celtic's 2-2 draw with Dundee Utd in midweek, when they again failed to capitalise on Rangers dropping points at away to Hearts. And Dunne who - played under O'Neill at Aston Villa in the 2009/10 season - has been unsettled by Hoops' troubled set of results in recent weeks.

Speaking to Snabbare, he said: "It's unusual to see a run like this at Celtic. They need to settle down and get back to winning ways. Losing to Falkirk and struggling in European games shows that recent recruitment hasn't been right and they've lost their strength. We’ve spoken about the European losses to Benfica and Celta Vigo, but Celtic used to compete with the biggest sides in Europe, so they look a bit lost right now.

"If Martin O'Neill can rebuild their confidence, they should be strong enough to challenge, but they need a proper rebuild to become a superpower again."

Dunne has also backed Sam Johnstone to help get his team back on track with some strong performances between the posts

He added: "When a keeper loses confidence, it affects the whole defence. You have to give other players a chance and hope things click and that’s what Martin has done with Sam Johnstone. Sometimes a single clean sheet can turn your whole season around. That's what Celtic are desperate for right now. Doing the basics right and having a keeper in form could be the catalyst to turn their season around."

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