Martin O’Neill reveals Celtic selection uncertainty as Rangers double-header looms
Celtic boss Martin O’Neill admits he is still unsure of his strongest starting XI as his summer signings settle in and several key players work their way back from injury.
The Hoops travel to face St Johnstone in the Premiership tonight in the first of four matches across a hectic 12-day period.
O’Neill has several selection decisions to make, particularly with Hyun-jun Yang unavailable after departing for the Asian Games.
The South Korean, who scored the winner against St Mirren on Saturday, will also miss both upcoming Rangers clashes and next week’s Europa League opener against Ferencvaros.
With new arrivals still finding their feet, O’Neill accepts it could take time before his preferred Celtic side becomes clear.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had an idea of what my best side has been,” O’Neill said via TCW. “I think if you want to be serious about it, the answer is no at the moment because the very obvious thing is that we’ve got some boys coming into the football club.
“I hazard a guess, or hopefully more than a guess, of what these players can do, what you’ve seen them do. But until they’re actually in this building, they’re actually training with this side, and then in the games, the matchdays, which is the one that decides everything, then you’ll not know.
“So the side that I put out tonight or the side that went out on Saturday evening, maybe after the international break, might not be the side that you feel might be our best team.”
Yang’s absence opens up a place on the left flank. Camilo Duran could move wide, allowing either Kasper Hogh or Shim Mheuka to lead the line, while Sebastian Tounekti is another option for O’Neill.
The Tunisian has started only once this season, scoring and assisting against Dundee United in the Premier Sports Cup, and O’Neill believes there is plenty more to come from him.
“Seb’s good, he’s got really good ability around the edge of the penalty box,” O’Neill said. “The thing I like about him is that he can go both ways.
“Sometimes there’s a bit of frustration, but there’ll always be a bit of frustration with wide players who might lose the ball once or twice.
“The most important thing to tell wide players is if they can go past people, just keep doing it. And that’s an easy comment for a manager to make, or a coach to make to them, but it’s different when you’ve lost it two times on the trot, and the crowd then start to get really anxious, particularly at home, and you think, well the next time I think I’ll just lay it off. So I don’t want that, I want to still encourage people to go past them.
“And when he comes inside, as he scored against Kilmarnock, he can do that. He’s missed the chance on Saturday night, and when he’s in and around the edge of the box, he can actually check outside and put it across.
“So it’s a matter of keep encouraging him, and while he probably sees at the moment that Yang has done exceptionally well, and Yang does great work for us as well when we don’t have the ball. Those are the things that I think Seb can pick up on and can learn.
“That should be his aim [to emulate Yang]. I think Seb has natural talent. I think it’s the other parts of the game that I think he’s got to have a wider picture, but hopefully that will come.”
O’Neill also has decisions to make over Kieran Tierney and Hogh. Tierney only returned to training on Tuesday following his recent injury issue and will be assessed ahead of the St Johnstone clash, while Hogh has completed several sessions and appears more likely to feature.
The trip to Perth begins a demanding run which sees Celtic face Rangers at Ibrox in the Premier Sports Cup on Sunday, Ferencvaros at Parkhead in Europe next Thursday and Rangers again in the Premiership three days later.
Despite the importance of the cup and European fixtures, O’Neill made clear where his immediate priorities lie.
“This one and the Rangers league game, to me, are the two most important games,” O’Neill added. “You’d want to do well in Europe, you’d like to stay in the League Cup, really like to do all of that. But if you’re asking me for prioritising, tonight’s really important for us.”
