DON'T WRITE THEM OFF

O'Neill backs January signings to come good

- BY MICHAEL GANNON

MARTIN O'NEILL has challenged his misfiring January recruits to make an impact in the title run-in.

Ahead of tonight's Premiership clash at Aberdeen, the Celtic manager is refusing to write off the band of players he brought in during the winter window.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (above) and Junior Adamu were both hooked at the break at Ibrox on Sunday after poor first-half showings, while Tomas Cvancara, Joel Mvuka and Ben Arthur were fit but not involved.

However, O'Neill is convinced the new Bhoys will come good. He said: "We've taken players in who, whatever they say about it, they might be playing in big leagues, but this is demanding - no more so than going to Ibrox for a start.

"But, yes, now that they've seen what this is all about, you want them to come in and make the impact in the last couple of months of the season. That was the expectation anyway. That's exactly what you want to do." Oxlade-Chamberlain got swept up in the Ibrox cauldron but O'Neill said: "That was understandable.