South Korea boss on Yang’s significant progress at Celtic

In partnership with

The Celtic Star

·24. März 2026

South Korea boss on Yang’s significant progress at Celtic

South Korea boss Hong Myung-bo has revealed his surprise at the significant progress made this season by Celtic winger Yang Hyun-jun…

Yang at Tannadice. Dundee Utd v Celtic. Sunday 22 March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

The 23 year-old endured a frustrating weekend as Celtic’s title hopes were disastrously dented by a 2-0 defeat to Dundee United, but he has since received a boost on the international front.

OneFootball Videos

Yang has been called up to the national squad for the first time in nine months ahead of upcoming European friendlies.

South Korea are scheduled to face Ivory Coast in Milton Keynes before taking on Austria in Vienna, with the Celtic player set to link up with his teammates in London.

Neil Farrugia of Dundee United controls the ball under pressure from Yang Hyun-Jun of Celtic during the Scottish Premiership match between Dundee United and Celtic at Tannadice Park on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Zak Mauger/Getty Images)

Hong – who has been closely tracking Yang’s development throughout the campaign – admitted he has been impressed by the player’s recent performances.

Speaking via The Herald, he said: “Yang Hyun-jun has shown levels of consistent performances this season for Celtic. I can say he is performing much better than the last time he was with the squad.”

“He is an ideal player to use here as we experiment with tactical flexibility. I have not finalised the World Cup squad yet. I will select the players with the best performance and physical condition right before the Finals.”

“These two games are all about maintaining momentum. We want to be competitive at the World Cup and these matches will give me an idea if we will be.”

Callum McGregor and Viljami Sinisalo at Tannadice. Dundee Utd v Celtic. Sunday 22 March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

Meanwhile, Callum McGregor insists it’s time for Celtic to ‘dial in’ ahead of the run-in following Sunday’s eighth league defeat of the season.

CalMac said via Daily Record: “We have to dial in. There’s a huge seven games and try and be as good a team as what we can be. And hopefully we do enough in those seven games to be where we want to be.”

“Listen, time will tell. We’ll see if we need to win them all or not. But I think we have to go on a run. Certainly, you’ve got to win at least five or six to have a good chance. So, listen, we know where we are.”

Mark Fotheringham and Callum McGregor pre-match at Tannadice. Dundee Utd v Celtic. Sunday 22 March 2026. Photograph by Vagelis Georgariou

“And I think now’s the time for calm heads. It’s an emotional situation, of course it is. But we have to be calm and understand where we want to be as a team and how we’re going to get there. And then ultimately it’s the players then carrying that out on the pitch as well.”

Conor Spence

Post your own thoughts in the comments section below…

Quick Tip – Add thecelticstar.com as your ‘Preferred Source’ on Google News for quick access to the Celtic content you value the most. It takes just a few seconds and you’ll notice the difference straight away! – Click HERE….Hail Hail!

Click to join Celtic Pools