Celtic

Image source, SNS

St Mirren skipper Mark O'Hara has had another injection in a troublesome foot but is likely to miss out on the visit of Celtic. Marcus Fraser is a doubt. Shamal George will be a last-minute decision, while fellow goalkeeper Ryan Mullen will not be available. Alex Gogic returns from suspension.

Celtic remain without Kelechi Iheanacho, James Forrest and Marcelo Saracchi, while Alistair Johnston, Callum Osmand (both hamstring) and Cameron Carter-Vickers (Achilles) are long-term absentees.

Image source, SNS

Everton will target Celtic and Japan forward Daizen Maeda, 28, in January. (Football Insider), external

Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill reveals that defender Cameron Carter-Vickers is gloomy about his chances of making next year's World Cup for host nation USA as he faces a long recovery from an Achilles injury. (Scottish Sun), external

Image source, SNS

Celtic's managerial search is progressing "nicely" and an announcement could come "very soon", says interim boss Martin O'Neill.

O'Neill has been in caretaker charge since the end of October following Brendan Rodgers' resignation.

The 73-year-old is set for his fifth game at the helm in Saturday evening's Premiership trip to face St Mirren.

O'Neill, speaking after Celtic's annual general meeting was abandoned amid jeering from shareholders, told Sky Sports: "I think things are progressing pretty nicely in terms of the new manager coming in.

"My departure is certainly welcomed by me if nothing else and I think at some stage or another something will happen in the very, very near future.

"For me, I only judge it game by game and like everything else if we don't win against St Mirren, don't play well in the game, then maybe it's time for the new manager to come in and progress it as quickly as possible.

"For myself now, obviously, it's the only thought after the AGM this morning just thoughts to tomorrow on St Mirren which will be very difficult for us.

"I think the new manager, that will be part of his role to unite the football club again and it's obviously very important because Celtic disunited can't really compete."

Celtic fans speak to BBC Sport Scotland after leaving the club's annual general meeting, which was cut short amid hostility between supporters and directors.

Image source, SNS

Interim boss Martin O'Neill has been speaking to the media before Celtic face St Mirren in the Premiership on Saturday.

Here are the key lines:

• O'Neill described Celtic's abandoned AGM as "a really sad morning" and added: "I just wonder what the great Jock Stein would have thought of it all, who preached unity at the football club, said that a club not united would never be successful. It's as sad a morning as I've seen."

• On whether Peter Lawwell had no option other than to cancel the meeting: "Well, it looked that way because no one was being heard. And I think that there were an awful lot of people in the room who would have wanted to have asked questions. I'm not an apologist for the board, I'm here on an interim basis. But, there were people who had wanted to have asked questions, and the board have said that they've made mistakes. And I think there's only so many times that you can apologise, and then you have to get on with things again."

• On Ross Desmond's defence of the board and his father, Dermot, O'Neill says: "He has every right to say what he said, absolutely. I got this job 25 years ago because of one man, really. And he brought me in when he had bigger names to choose from, people who had better CVs, bigger CVs. I've had the time of my life, which was fantastic. And he brought me back here again. He did not say to me, your job is to quell the discontent."

• O'Neill believes unity at the club is still achievable: "It shouldn't be impossible. There's got to be a coming together again from this. There's an obvious disconnect at this minute, but that surely can be rectified."

• He says the board were expecting a "tough time" but there was "shock" among the hierarchy afterwards at the fractious scenes.

• The 73-year-old is "probably a bit surprised" to still be in interim charge but says there is "definitely progress being made" in the search for a permanent manager.

• Saturday "could well be" his last game in charge and O'Neill adds: "Not only am I going game by game in that sense, and a new manager coming in, but obviously you can outstay your welcome here as well too. You lose the games and people will want to try and make a change pretty quickly then after that, which I understand, because we're in the results business."

• O'Neill was at Hampden for Scotland's "brilliant" win over Denmark which secured World Cup qualification, and he "couldn't be more pleased" for goalscorer Kieran Tierney, adding: "The goal, I was right behind it. The minute it left his foot, I thought this is heading in."

• The Celtic boss will now have to "pick up Kasper Schmeichel from off the floor" after the goalkeeper and Denmark were consigned to the World Cup play-offs.

Image source, SNS

Interim Celtic boss Martin O'Neill faces his biggest domestic test yet in Saturday's trip to face St Mirren, says former striker Cillian Sheridan.

With the search still ongoing for Brendan Rodgers' permanent replacement, the club confirmed earlier this week that O'Neill and Shaun Maloney will continue to lead the side.

O'Neill has won his three domestic games so far - 4-0 Premiership wins over Falkirk and Kilmarnock plus a 3-1 extra-time victory over Rangers in the League Cup semis - with the sole defeat a 3-1 loss at Midtjylland in the Europa League.

"It looks as if Martin O'Neill has come in and all the players look to be enjoying it a lot more," Sheridan told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"That's what it looks like in games so I can only imagine it's a similar thing in training.

"The fact that he's stayed on, I don't think will really bother the players. As long as the mood around the place is good and training is upbeat, they'll be quite happy.

"At a club like Celtic, there's always going to be noise about something, so they'll probably just have to block all that out."

Celtic currently sit seven points behind Hearts at the top of the table, albeit with a game in hand, as they prepare for the meeting with fellow League Cup finalists St Mirren.

"I think it'll probably be Martin O'Neill's biggest test domestically so far," Sheridan added.

"Everyone knows what St Mirren are like and then adding that feeling around a Saturday night game, there's just something different about the atmosphere."

Columbus Crew general manager Issa Tall has insisted he has yet to receive an approach from Celtic over Wilfried Nancy despite reports that the Scottish champions are negotiating over personal terms with the head coach and compensation with his club. (Inside The Crew podcast), external

Celtic's second-largest shareholder, Lindsell Train Limited, has reduced its stake in the club once again before the club's annual meeting on Friday. (The Herald), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Image source, Getty Images

Kieran Tierney has revealed he received a "lovely text" from Celtic team-mate Kasper Schmeichel after denting the Denmark goalkeeper's World Cup dream with a stunning goal.

The 28-year-old came off the bench at Hampden to curl home in the 94th minute and edge Scotland 3-2 up before Kenny McLean added a sensational strike from the halfway line as Scotland qualified for a first men's World Cup since 1998.

And while Tierney and fellow Scotland player Anthony Ralston have still be reunited with Schmeichel at Celtic, the left-back revealed the devastated Dane - whose national team will host North Macedonia in the play-off semi-finals - had quickly been in touch.

"No, he's back tomorrow, so I'll see him tomorrow," Tierney told Sky Sports.

"But he actually sent me a lovely text after the game. Within the hour or so, he texted me and Ralston, so it just shows you the professional that he is as well.

"Somebody's got to lose, and in the last few however many years, it's usually been Scotland in a game like that.

"So for us to have the fortune on our side, and the moments on our side that night, it was really special. But obviously it's a shame for Kasper and his team as well."

Two days on from Tierney's Hampden heroics, the magnitude of Scotland's achievement - and importance of his goal - are still sinking in.

"I've watched the goal back a lot, to be fair. I'm not going to hide it. After we went out, I went back to the hotel, watched it back," he said.

"Yesterday, people kept sending me different background music to the goals and that, so it's unbelievable. Titanic's a good one. Oasis was a good one. Linger. I like the Linger one as well, so there's a few.

"I've seen different angles from people in the stadium just recording it, and even you just see the reaction and what it means to people. It's honestly unbelievable. I'll do well to score a more important goal than that in my life, so it's amazing."

The congratulations have been pouring in, with Tierney even getting a name-check from Prime Minister Keir Starmer.

"He's an Arsenal fan, isn't he, so that's probably why he's mentioned me. But that's mental, that's just mental," he added.

Nick McPheat
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, SNS

It feels like a long time now since that Dermot Desmond statement brought the shock news of Brendan Rodgers' shock resignation from Celtic.

In the 24 days that have followed, legendary manager Martin O'Neill has returned and steadied the ship on the domestic front.

Two 4-0 league wins against Falkirk and Kilmarnock have come either side of a Premier Sports Cup semi-final success against rivals Rangers.

The only real disappointment has been a sobering 3-1 Europa League defeat at Midtjylland.

But where are the club in their search for a permanent manager?

The likes of Kieran McKenna, Craig Bellamy, Robbie Keane and Kjetil Knutsen have all been linked, but Columbus Crew boss Wilfried Nancy has emerged from leftfield as the reported frontrunner.

Celtic supporters would have hoped for the confirmation of a new manager across the November international break.

However, the update they instead received from the club was that O'Neill and Shaun Maloney will continue on an interim basis for the time being.

Given that statement only came on Monday, it indicates the pair will lead the team into Saturday night's trip to St Mirren.

Despite reports suggesting Nancy is on the verge of a move to Glasgow, Celtic fans were perplexed to see comments from Columbus Crew general manager Issa Tall, who claimed, external Celtic are yet to ask for permission to speak to their head coach.

Those remarks will only add to the ire within the Celtic support, who will be posing some tough questions to the club's board at Friday's AGM.

Image source, SNS

• St Mirren have lost 12 of their past 14 meetings with Celtic in all competitions (D2) since a 2-0 league win in September 2022.

• Celtic have won five successive away games at St Mirren in all competitions, all by a margin of 2+ goals; they last won 6+ in a row away to the Buddies in September 1987 (eight).

• St Mirren are on a five-match winless run in the Scottish Premiership (D1 L4), and could go six without a victory for the second time this calendar year, last doing so between May and August (P6 D5 L1).

• Celtic have won both Premiership matches 4-0 since Martin O'Neill returned to the club. They haven't won three league games on the spin while scoring 4+ goals and keeping a clean sheet in all three since a run of four across October and November 2003, also under Martin O'Neill.

• Celtic have faced the fewest shots (74), the fewest shots on target (26), and conceded the fewest goals (eight) of any team in the top flight this season.

• This will be St Mirren boss Stephen Robinson's 30th managerial game against Celtic in all competitions; he has won just one of 29 (D5 L23), a 2-0 victory with the Buddies in September 2022.

• During his first spell in charge of Celtic, O'Neill won all four meetings with St Mirren in all competitions without conceding. Only five Celtic managers have won their first five matches against a specific opponent while keeping a clean sheet each time: Jock Stein against Airdrieonians, David Hay against Clydebank, Liam Brady against Dundee, Neil Lennon against St Mirren, and Ronny Deila against Partick Thistle.

• Celtic's Daizen Maeda has been directly involved in 24 goals in 26 Premiership appearances in 2025 (15 goals, nine assists), the most of any player. It's three more goal involvements than he managed in 63 league games across 2023 (nine) and 2024 (12) combined.

Celtic hope to have managerial front-runner Wilfriend Nancy in the dugout in time for their visit to Hibernian on 30 November, with a compensation package of around £2m being finalised with Columbus Crew for their head coach. (TeamTalk), external

There is a possibility Japan forward Daizen Maeda could leave Celtic in January, but it depends on the situation over the appointment of a new manager. (Fabrizio Romano via Give Me Sport), external

Leeds United would likely have to increase their outlay on their manager if they were to replace Daniel Farke with Brendan Rodgers, with the Northern Irishman having earned £58,000 per week, £20,000 more than the German's current contract, while he was Celtic boss. (TeamTalk), external

Celtic's Green Brigade ultras group has accused the club of "emotional blackmail" and of using Thursday's meeting with the local council as an excuse for introducing fresh sanctions against the fans group. (Daily Record), external

Work has started on a statue to Celtic and Scotland legend Tommy Gemmell in his home town of Wishaw, North Lanarkshire. (Glasgow Times), external

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Image source, Getty Images

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

The reaction to the interim stewardship of Martin O'Neill and Shaun Maloney being extended at Celtic for another few days at least has been fascinating to watch.

A meltdown among some fans, incredulous that the club's top target Wilfried Nancy must have turned the job down. A shrug of the shoulders from others, along the lines: "In O'Neill we trust".

There need be no panic among those wishing to see the speedy unveiling of the club's next permanent manager. One glaringly obvious thing seems to have been missed in all the zealous speculation: Nancy needs a work permit.

Without it, he can't take a training session in the UK, never mind a Premiership match.

So even if the deal is done for the Frenchman and his backroom team - including which of the existing Scottish coaches might be joining the new staff - Celtic must await the Home Office paperwork before he can take his place in a dugout.

Which will involve the extra hoop of a Scottish FA 'governing body endorsement for Tier 2 (Sportsperson)' in order to obtain the relevant visa. There may also be an independent panel needing to be convened to consider Nancy's skills and experience if he doesn't meet the initial criteria for the work permit.

So could we be in for a scenario in which Celtic announce the deal is done for Nancy to succeed Brendan Rodgers pending the arrival of the relevant government and SFA paperwork?

This is where the safe pair of hands comes in. It's almost certain O'Neill will take charge of Saturday evening's trip to face St Mirren, a dress rehearsal of next month's Premier Sports Cup final.

Is there a scenario in which O'Neill is still interim Celtic manager at Hampden? Possibly, owing to the fact Nancy has just completed a full season in MLS and is due some kind of holiday or a break.

Should he - or his new employers – feel he needs to recharge the batteries before jumping into the hotseat, then the O'Neill-Maloney team is already in place.

The next few games would be quite the baptism of fire for any new Celtic manager. Away to St Mirren, Feyenoord and Hibs. After that, a run of three home games: Dundee, league leaders Hearts and then Roma in the Europa League.

Then it's the first final of the season, the showpiece O'Neill steered Celtic to with that much-needed morale boost against Rangers.

There's a feeling among some in the support the 2003 Uefa Cup finalist deserves another shot at silverware. If the board - and perhaps Nancy - agree then O'Neill's interim stewardship could last several weeks longer than he, or anyone else, was expecting.

Amy Canavan
BBC Sport Scotland at Hampden

"Somebody at the edge of the box actually told me, 'Time, take a touch.'"

Thankfully, Kieran Tierney couldn't hear his team-mate and his misguided shout.

The Celtic left-back, brought on at right-back, let rip from 25 yards to send Scotland into a stoppage-time lead over Denmark on the most marvellous of nights in Mount Florida as World Cup qualification was secured.

"It's surreal," the Scotland goalscorer said.

"I've never really scored a goal just as important as that. What a feeling it was for the country, for the fans, for the staff, for everyone, for the team.

"I think we all deserve that with how hard we work and what we've been through these last few years.

"I think getting to the World Cup tops it off for this group because it's something that we hadn't managed to do before and we went out there and done it the hard way."

For a few magnificent moments, it seemed like Tierney was going to be the hero... but Kenny McLean had other ideas.

"I don't care, honestly because the last five minutes was dragging in," he added.

"As long as we got through, I honestly didn't care. I'm buzzing.

"I ran into the dugout and everybody was out, the subs, the staff, the coaches, and I think that shows one of our biggest strengths as a team is the togetherness.

"Through good times and bad, we're always there for each other, we want the best for each other and I just said before the game, everyone here is important.

"The people who come on, the people who don't come on, the starters, the staff, and we need to give our all. I think this team, we all do that and that's one thing we can say."

Celtic are continuing to make progress in the pursuit of Wilfried Nancy after kicking off compensation talks with Columbus Crew over their head coach. (Daily Record), external

Wilfried Nancy, who remains in advanced negotiations with Celtic about becoming their manager as the Scottish champions look to buy out the final year of the French head coach's contract with Columbus Crew, was recently approached by Reims, Saint-Etienne and Rennes. (L'Equipe), external

Former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers is of interest to Fulham amid major doubts over Marco Silva's future, despite the Portuguese being offered a new contract with his current deal running out at the end of the season. (Football Insider), external

Celtic are working to bring in a new centre-forward in the January transfer window and Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy is likely to utilise the Major League Soccer market if he is appointed manager. (Football Insider), external

Former Celtic midfielder Stiliyan Petrov has revealed he was paid £227 per week when he first joined the club from CSKA Sofia in 1999 for £2.8m, but the low wage was still three times more than he had been earning in Bulgaria. (The National), external

Celtic have revealed that they have been hauled in front of Glasgow City Council's safety advisory group on Thursday because their Green Brigade ultras flouted their stadium ban by attending this month's match against Kilmarnock. (Scottish Sun), external

Read Wednesday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Image source, Getty Images

Tino
Fan writer

All signs point towards Frenchman Wilfried Nancy being the man to lead Celtic into a new era, but it looks like we'll need to wait that bit longer before the news is confirmed.

His pending appointment has certainly divided opinion among the fanbase - but tell me a manager in world football who wouldn't.

That's the way it goes at Celtic, rightly or wrongly. Martin O'Neill? Too old. Kieran McKenna? Too expensive. Jose Mourinho? Past his best. Pep? Overrated…

There are few in the game would receive universal sign-off from the fans, and that's just the way it'll always be.

And don't let anyone tell you after the fact they always "knew" Ange Postecoglou was going to be a guaranteed success in Glasgow.

But back to Nancy - and to what he may bring to the party if a deal is indeed done in the coming days.

Like many I've spent the last week or so reading articles, watching YouTube videos, and poring through as much content as I can on a man who can only be described as charismatic, ambitious and extremely intriguing.

But one thing that intrigues me almost as much as Nancy himself is the type of appointment Celtic seem to be making here.

This isn't some safe, traditional pair of hands, familiar to us from his time in the English Premier League or even the Championship.

Similarly it isn't someone plucked from the 'decent reputation and supported Celtic as a kid' category either.

This is an innovative, forward-thinking, progressive coach, who fully embraces the modern practices of data and analytics so prevalent among the top clubs.

So does that mean that maybe - just maybe - Celtic too are dragging themselves kicking and screaming into the modern footballing stratosphere?

A glance down the M8 at Hearts and their seriously exciting Jamestown Analytics model tells us we're in danger of slipping behind if we don't act fast. And though we're maybe later to the party than we should be, surely this is an encouraging sign of what could lie in store.

Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself, and of course Nancy isn't even in the building just yet – but the signs are there that if he's deemed the man for the job, we could be set to witness a whole new ball game at Celtic.

Vive la revolution!

Tino can be found at The Celtic Exchange, external

Image source, SNS

Simon Donnelly believes Celtic are in "safe hands" with Martin O'Neill as the club reportedly attempt to secure Wilfried Nancy as permanent manager.

Former boss O'Neill took over following Brendan Rodgers' resignation and has been in the dugout for four games so far, overseeing two league wins, a League Cup semi-final victory over Rangers and a Europa League defeat to Midtjylland.

"I think it's in safe hands with Martin and the coaching staff," ex-Celtic forward Donnelly told BBC Scotland.

"They've come in and showed they can get a reaction out of the team. Celtic fans would probably be more comfortable with who's in charge at the moment and if that has to be for a little bit longer then so be it."

O'Neill has said he will be "happy to still be here" for the Premiership game away to St Mirren on Saturday if required.

And with the League Cup final against the Paisley side looming on 14 December, Donnelly would like to see the 73-year-old given the opportunity to be in charge for the Hampden showpiece.

"That would be great," he added.

"I think after the European game there were a lot of people wondering when the next guy would be coming in but then Celtic bounced back with a good result against Kilmarnock.

"On a whole, the performances have been decent and he's held in high regard with the fans. I think they'll be quite comfortable with him leading at the moment.

"Having listened to his post-match interviews, I don't think he wants to be there for too long but if they keep winning it would be nice to see him lead the team out in the final."

Image source, Getty Images

Celtic are edging closer to securing Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy as their new manager after a weekend of talks with a view to getting a deal over the line before the Scottish champions' annual meeting on Friday. (Daily Record), external

Uruguay capped forward Diego Rossi could be Wilfried Nancy's first signing should he become Celtic manager, with the 27-year-old Columbus Crew top scorer hinting he would like to return to Europe at the end of the current Major League Soccer campaign. (Daily Record), external

Image source, SNS

Michel-Ange Balikwisha made a memorable debut for DR Congo, with the Celtic winger netting in a penalty shootout against Nigeria to help book a World Cup intercontinental qualifier place.

Balikwisha came off the bench in extra-time as the African play-off finished 1-1 in Rabat, Morocco.

The 24-year-old then found the top corner with a spot-kick as DR Congo prevailed 4-3 on penalties.

They join Bolivia and New Caledonia at the six-team inter-confederation tournament which will provide the final two qualifiers for next year's World Cup.

The winner of the second leg of the Asian play-off between Iraq and the United Arab Emirates and the best two third-ranked finishers from the third round of Concacaf qualifying will complete the field for the March event.

Image source, Getty Images

Celtic centre-half Liam Scales set up a goal for Troy Parrott for the second game running as Republic of Ireland scored a dramatic stoppage-time winner in Hungary to secure a World Cup qualification play-off place.

Scales rose to meet a high ball into the penalty box to head into the path of Parrott, who stabbed the ball home with seconds remaining to secure a 3-2 victory.

The two had also combined for Parrott to score the opener in last week's 2-0 win over Portugal and his hat-trick in Puskas Arena means the Irish leapfrog Hungary into the runners-up spot behind the Portuguese in Group F.

Portugal made sure of qualification with a 9-1 hammering of Armenia.

Image source, SNS

Former Scotland defender Steven Caldwell believes Celtic will be getting one of the best coaches in Major League Soccer if they appoint Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy but describes the potential move as "a big jump". (Sunday Mail), external

Nancy could look to bring Crew striker Diego Rossi, 27, to Celtic. (Record), external

Crew wing-back Max Arfsten would respect Nancy's decision to join Celtic if it came to pass. (Herald - subscription required), external

Celtic right-back Colby Donovan left the field on a stretcher as Scotland Under-21s beat Gibraltar on Saturday. (Sun), external

Read Sunday's Scottish gossip

Image source, Getty Images

Liam Scales enjoyed his best night yet in a Republic of Ireland shirt as his chances of making it to the World Cup took an unlikely turn for the better.

The Celtic centre-back was deployed at left-wing-back in Thursday night's famous 2-0 victory over Portugal, which keeps their hopes of securing a World Cup play-off place again.

He and his team-mates head for Hungary on Sunday knowing a repeat would clinch a play-off spot, which seemed unlikely at the beginning of this camp.

"For me personally, it's the best night I've had in an Ireland shirt," the 27-year-old who nodded down the assist for Troy Parrott's opener said.

"The game-plan paid off. We wanted to be solid, we wanted to catch them on the counter-attack, we wanted to be good at set-pieces, and that's what won us the game.

"It's a great feeling. We know we're only halfway there and we've got to do the same on Sunday, but we'll enjoy that.

"It will be a night that'll be remembered, so it's amazing to be part of that."

It's been a difficult year for Scales at international level – the Portugal game was his first start since the 5-0 Nations League defeat by England last November, in which he was sent off for a second bookable offence.

However, he was not found wanting in his country's hour of need and relished the opportunity to prove himself all over again.

"It's an amazing feeling," he added. "Starting a game for Ireland is the best, the highest it gets, for me anyway. Being able to sing the national anthem on the pitch, I'm just glad I got to do that again.

"I'm happy with whatever role I have in the squad. It's all about us doing it together as a unit. If I can help in any way possible, I will.

"Sunday's the big one. We wanted to be in with a shout going into the second game and we are.

"That's the best possible outcome we could have had."