Martin O’Neill hints that Kasper Hogh will be on bench | OneFootball

Kasper Hogh is very much a player dividing opinion among the Celtic supporters at this moment in time, with it even being suggested that he could be dropped for today’s Premier Sports Cup quarter final clash at Ibrox…

9th September 2026; McDiarmid Park, Scottish Premiership St Johnstone versus Celtic; Kasper Hogh of Celtic shoots towards goal. Photo Vagelis Georgariou

The Danish international was signed for a club record £11 million in the summer transfer window, and big things were naturally expected of the 25 year old, particularly after his Champions League exploits with Bodo last season.

Kasper quickly showed his prowess in front of goal as he grabbed a first half hat trick in the recent 5-1 rout over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park.

Unfortunately for the big striker, he suffered a knock in the 5-1 thumping by LASK, and only recently returned in the recent 1-0 win over St Johnstone in Perth.

9th August 2026; Rugby Park, Kilmarnock, Scottish Premiership, Kilmarnock versus Celtic; Kasper Hogh of Celtic celebrates with the match ball after his hat trick. Photo by Vagelis Georgariou

Despite his rather low key start to life as a Celtic player (that Rugby Park hat-trick aside) the Dane has been tipped for greatness at Celtic by none other than Martin O’Neill.

The Celtic manager had this to say about his record signing: “We’ve got three huge games over the course of the next week in three different competitions. Kasper is going to be a big player for us for sure.”

Martin added, via Yahoo Sport: “It would be nice to go through this period unbeaten if we possibly can. By the time we then come back from the international break, Kasper will be a big player for us.”

3rd August 2026 Celtic Park, Scottish Premiership, Celtic versus Dundee Kasper Hogh of Celtic applauds the fans at the end of the match Photo David Young IMAGO

Martin also admitted that he underestimated the workload the Danish striker had put in already, due to the Norwegian league having already been in full swing by the time the big striker had arrived in Glasgow

He said: “In all honesty, I hadn’t realised how many games he had played prior to joining us due to how the season works over in Norway.”

With a demanding schedule ahead, Martin is confident Hogh will play a crucial role for Celtic, proving himself as a key figure in the squad, after the international break.

Celtic FC new signing Sam Johnstone. Photo Willie Vass IMAGO

There are some key decisions for Martin O’Neill to make today ahead of travelling over to Ibrox. Who gets the gloves – Viljami Sinisalo or Sam Johnstone? Does Alex Oxlade Chamberlain, who is suspended for the Europa League opener on Thursday night, start in the middle of the park at Ibrox today, who replaces Yang on the left wing and finally who leads the line for Celtic this afternoon.

Camilo Duran of Celtic celebrates scoring his second goal of the game to give Celtic a 2-0 lead. Celtic v Falkirk, Scottish Premiership, Celtic Park, 29 August 2026. Photo Stuart Wallace IMAGO/Shutterstock

On the latter I very much hope that it’s Kasper Hogh but Martin’s words perhaps point to Kasper having to settle for a place on the bench this afternoon, with perhaps Camilo Duran leading the line and that probably means Sebastian Tounekti on the left hand side of the Celtic front three.

Sebastian Tounekti of Celtic shoots during the Scottish Premiership match between St. Mirren and Celtic at St Mirren Park on September 05, 2026. (Photo by Zak Mauger/Getty Images)

Regardless of what Martin does decide let’s hope that it works and the Hoops are celebrating in a silent stadium.

COYBIG

Just an Ordinary Bhoy

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