Martin O'Neill wants 'a lot more' from one Celtic midfielder

Celtic boss Martin O'Neill says he is going to be demanding more from midfielder Joel van der Berg following his return from injury over the last week .

Van der Berg is yet to make a senior Celtic appearance since arriving from PSV Eindhoven on a £4.3million deal at the back end of the summer transfer window.

At just 19 years of age, part of that was simply due to selection decisions from O'Neill. but the midfielder has missed the best part of six weeks due to an ankle injury he picked up in training before the last international break.

He recently returned to training, though, and Van der Berg was given much-needed minutes during Celtic B's Challenge Cup defeat to Ross County this week, a game O'Neill was in the stands for.

With curiosity surrounding Van der Berg and what his current level is, given fans have seen very little of him, O'Neill was asked what he thought of the midfielder's performance during that B team game, and what he thinks of him generally.

He said: "He's just back from injury. I thought his training sessions had been very, very good," O'Neill said of Van den Berg. "And I'm going to demand a lot more of him."

At 19 years of age, it's expected Van der Berg will only play a supplementary role this season, but the Bhoys need all the help they can get in the midfield, and he is a box-to-box midfielder who should be able to offer some youthful legs.

That could be an asset if O'Neill can get Van der Berg to a level where he can compete with the first team. Loan midfielder Oliver Sorensen has featured here and there, but we haven't seen anything from him to suggest he should be a starter, so there may be an opportunity there.