Exclusive CelticPlayer interview with Martin O'Neill

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Celtic F.C.

·13 August 2026

Exclusive CelticPlayer interview with Martin O'Neill

Martin O’Neill has been back at Lennoxtown this week following a short time in hospital.

And he sat down with CelticPlayer to reflect on an impressive performance from his team against Kilmarnock and also welcome the latest addition to his squad, with the arrival of Egyptian internationalist, Haissem Hassan.

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“I’m delighted that Haissem's here and hopefully he'll do well,” said the manager. “I think that when he gets to see the surrounds here, I just think he'll glow.

“People start to think about the number of things that players can't do, and I think you have to stay more in the positive of what players can do.

'Going past players now is a sort of a dying art, which is really almost unforgivable in football. And that's what fans get excited about.'

“And to tell you the truth, so do fellow players. They think if he can take people on and then cause some sort of havoc, make some goals, maybe score the occasional one as well too - all of that adds to the mix, but deep down I'm delighted we have him.”

And the Celtic manager has also been pleased with the way Camilo Duran and Kasper Høgh have quickly settled into life at the club, with the Colombian netting three goals in three pre-season games and the Danish striker hitting a hat-trick at Rugby Park at the weekend.

“I thought the team did brilliantly,” the manager said. “It was a great goal early on and it was great for Kasper as well because he missed a couple of chances in the game against Dundee, but overall you feel as if he can stay away from serious injury he will score goals for you.

“He's proven that in the Champions League and it was nice to see him as all strikers thrive on goals and that's great for him.

“In terms of quality, Camilo is perhaps even playing out of position at this moment because I think he is a centre-forward or he can play off the centre-forward, so I think we have to be a bit more flexible in our teams as well.

“We should be able to play a number of systems without too much bother.

“I know that it's been pretty rigid here for quite a number of years and been successful, which is great, and one doesn't really want to change a great deal.

'But I think if you've got two players like that, who are both capable of scoring goals, I think then you have to try and find different ways of performing.'

Next up for Celtic is a League Cup tie against Dundee United at Tannadice this Saturday (KO: 5.45pm).

And the aim for the Hoops, of course, is to ensure they’re in the draw for the next round of the competition.

“We’ve got this big match on Saturday and another couple of massive matches in the Champions League,” the manager said.

“And what you're hoping for is that the players can just play football and gel as quickly as possible because these games are coming so quickly now on top of us.

“The game on Saturday evening will be difficult for us. Dundee United played exceptionally well against Rangers, buoyed on by a home crowd. And remembering last season as well, we've really got to be at it right from the start.”

Watch the full and exclusive interview with Martin O’Neill on CelticPlayer

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