Arne Engels has warned that born-again Celtic are ready to hunt down another Premiership title.
Saturday’s impressive four-goal demolition of Dundee United ensured Martin O’Neill’s latest return to the dug-out got off to the perfect start.
Having won just two of six league matches under Wilfried Nancy, the home defeat to Rangers on January 3 signalled the end for the Frenchman.
On the back of a vastly improved display, though, Engels, who scored the second goal against Jim Goodwin’s side, believes the champions are now geared up for an almighty fight with Hearts and Rangers.
‘Everybody has a lot of confidence now,’ said the Belgian. ‘I think it’s really good that we just stick to the basics again and that we do what we are good at. Then you see everything follows.
‘I think we never gave them any chance to come into the game and we pressed them really well. Even if we lost the ball, we got it directly back and we created a lot of chances.
So, it’s hopefully now a run that we are on. Obviously, we are hunting, so it’s a good feeling to win again.
‘We know now that we have some points that we need to come back from. But we are Celtic so we want to win everything and we actually like to be just chasing something.
‘So, now we have a goal from here. There are still 17 games to go and we are going all in for that championship. Hopefully we can win a lot of games and move from here because it was really good on Saturday.’
Individually and collectively, Celtic were unrecognisable from the rabble which looked lost under Nancy’s disastrous 3-4-3 formation.
Engels admitted that the players immediately benefited from the simple messaging of O’Neill and the return to his preferred 4-3-3.
‘I think we knew what system he wanted to play because we had him before,’ he explained. ‘So, it’s up to us then to just simplify the game and go on and create a lot of chances and we did that.
Then you see that we have a lot of talent in our squad to finish it. It was really well done from us and also from all the coaching staff coming back in and putting it back on the rails.
‘Hopefully, now we can just move on and keep winning.
Aside from losing to Rangers, Motherwell, Dundee United and Hearts, the side under Nancy were also defeated by St Mirren in the League Cup final and Roma in the Europa League.
Asked if he felt the whole experience at the end of the year, culminating in O’Neill’s return, had felt like a bad dream, Engels said: ‘Yeah, it’s really strange for us.
‘Obviously, it wasn’t the results that we were hoping for, but I think now that’s behind us.
‘We’re not proud of that and we’re still thinking about what we should have done better.
‘But it’s up to us to just move on now and go from here because we showed on Saturday that we have a really good squad with a lot of talent and that we can win games and not give any opposition any chance.’
While Celtic have a huge fight on their hands to hang on to their crown, Engels believes delivering the title would be the perfect way for the players to thank O’Neill for again agreeing to ride to the rescue.
He came in twice (after) a really difficult period and he gave us a lot of confidence and trust that we are really good players,’ the midfielder continued.
‘And then you see that the results are speaking for themselves.
‘Obviously, we want to give him something back, but we also want to give ourselves something back because it’s been a really tough period for us all.
‘We have a lot of goals that we still need to go for.
‘We still have the Europa League that we want to go through to the knockouts and obviously the Scottish Cup and the Championship.
‘So, there’s a lot to play for and that’s a really nice feeling then to get back on track and be successful again, and that’s what we are aiming for.