Celtic

Martin Dowden
BBC Sport Scotland at Hampden

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Midfielder Arne Engels believes Celtic showed their mindset is back where it should be after the 3-1 League Cup semi-final win over Rangers in extra-time.

Celtic finally saw off their 10-man opponents, with Callum McGregor and Callum Osmand strikes eventually earning a final against St Mirren next month.

Engels insists that, under interim-manager Martin O'Neill, they have rediscovered positivity and hopes victory can spark them into gear in this campaign.

"It's going really well," the Belgian said. "It's another cup final now and hopefully we can win this because we still have a weird feeling [from losing the Scottish Cup to Aberdeen last season].

"I think we've got the right mindset now and we can now move on."

Engels, who struggled for starts for much of this season, has now begun Celtic's last four fixtures with two successive wins under the veteran Northern Irish manager.

"Everybody is really happy with him and positive," Engels said. "I think we have now a really positive feeling about what is going on.

"Hopefully I can just keep on going now. I worked really hard for it and hopefully I can stay there for a long period.

"The most important thing is hat we keep showing that hunger and mentality that we did today and the intensity that we maybe missed in the beginning of the month.

"We have it back now and hopefully we can kick on from there."

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James McFadden on BBC Scotland: "It was a great game of football and it was so engaging.

"There was no break in play and the tempo was so high.

"Polar opposite from the previous Old Firm derby. A great advert for the game because it lived up to expectations.

"Rangers have gone for it with 10 men and Celtic just upped the tempo in extra time when they made their man advantage tell.

"Callum Osmand. Why has he not been an option until now when Celtic have been struggling up front?"

Pat Bonner on BBC Scotland: "The sending off had a huge role to play, although Rangers did rally in the second half.

"They had the chances to even win this game.

"That summed a Celtic team under Martin O'Neill - high energy, everybody banging into tackles.

"Is that what we are going to get from Celtic every week now?"

Neil Lennon on Premier Sports: "Callum Osmand, he's something a little bit different to what Celtic have in strikers."

Captain Callum McGregor and teenage substitute Callum Osmand scored in extra time to take holders Celtic into the League Cup final at 10-man Rangers' expense in a pulsating match at Hampden.

Read the match report here.

Have your say here.

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Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill on BBC Radio Scotland: "It was an incredible game. We were terrific and got the goal in front and got one disallowed for offside.

"We were in command of the game and Rangers had a man sent off.

"After that, there was a little bit of anxiety and we took our foot off the pedal.

"Rangers really came into the game and with 10 v 11, dominated proceedings and you start to get anxious.

"I was saying to [assistant manager] Shaun Maloney we needed a goal to kill the game off and six or seven minutes later, Rangers get the penalty.

"Then Callum McGregor comes up with a phenomenal goal for us from a phenomenal player and Callum won us the game.

"When he learns to play centre-forward, he will be a player.

Of the victory, he says: "It gives you confidence, especially when playing rivals like Rangers.

"But also the other night against Falkirk, it is encouraging.

"I have had all the help in the world from the backroom staff. I could not have done any of this without the help of the backroom staff, the players and the crowd were magnificent."

As for Rangers, he adds: "I said before that I did not think they were strong, but today I saw a lot of commitment, a lot of drive and worthy opponents."

O'Neill told Premier Sports: "I was 73 on Monday, I'm 94 now! I don't even know when the final is.

"I would imagine the club are making inroads to a permanent manager," he continues, before adding: "Ask me that tomorrow."

On his much-talked about attire, a jovial Martin O'Neill explains: "The other tracksuit was really tight, nylon. I looked like Robin Hood!"

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Celtic's managerial target will not be available until December, according to former team boss Gordon Strachan. (Glasgow Times), external

Gordon Strachan's suggestion that Celtic must wait until December to secure their managerial target hints at either Craig Bellamy, who wants to complete Wales' World Cup qualifying campaign, or Bodo/Glimt's Kjetil Knutsen, with Norway's domestic season ending on 30 November. (Sunday Mail), external

Ultras group, the Green Brigade, have presented a "clear mandate" for a new standing section at Celtic Park. (The Herald on Sunday), external

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Celtic will make a late decision on left-back Kieran Tierney (groin) while potential replacement Marcelo Sarrachi is expected to shake off a knock.

Right-back Alistair Johnston and striker Kelechi Iheanacho are set to remain on the sidelines with hamstring injuries, while defender Cameron Carter-Vickers (Achilles) and winger Jota (knee) are long-term absentees.

Rangers are missing suspended midfielder Connor Barron and remain without winger Rabbi Matondo (knee), defender Dujon Sterling (Achilles) and midfielder Kieran Dowell (foot).

Caleb Akpo-Young
BBC Sport Scotland

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Captain Callum McGregor says Martin O'Neill and Shaun Maloney have given Celtic a "positive bounce" following their interim appointment.

The pair stepped in on Monday following the surprise resignation of manager Brendan Rodgers.

O'Neill, back in the Celtic hotseat 20 years after his departure, and former player Maloney recorded an opening 4-0 home victory over Falkirk on Wednesday and are now targeting a derby victory over Rangers in Sunday's Premier Sports Cup semi-final.

"Yeah really good, really positive," McGregor said of their early impact.

"To ask a guy [Martin O'Neill] to come in with that much experience, who's been here before and who understands the fabric of club, it's continuity.

"It's Celtic people who really understand the club."

Former Hibs and Wigan boss Maloney, who re-joined Celtic in June as professional pathway manager, has taken charge of training duties this week and McGregor has enjoyed what he has seen so far.

"Shaun has been amazing, he's come in and his work ethic is unbelievable. He's making sure everyone is okay," the midfielder said.

"The training level was great. It's been a really positive bounce and I think we needed that."

McGregor, 32, was a wide-eyed academy player during O'Neill's trophy-laden first spell at the club.

"It was almost a full generation ago that he was here, you saw the team being super successful, winning trophies, getting to the Uefa Cup final," he said.

"I was coming through the academy at the time so it was inspiring to have the first team performing so well.

"He's a funny character and lightening the mood a wee bit helped for the players because sometimes you don't know how to feel when there's a change.

"But right away when he spoke to the players he made them feel at ease."

Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy, who previously worked as an assistant under Thierry Henry at Montreal, has emerged as an outside candidate for the Celtic managerial vacancy. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

Nancy has refused to comment on the Celtic job after being linked to the Scottish champions. (Herald - subscription required), external

According to a report, Ferencvaros head coach Robbie Keane is interested in the Celtic manager's job. (Telegraph via Irish Mirror, external)

Former England rugby head coach Eddie Jones believes Australian compatriot Ange Postecoglou is more likely to move to a Premier League club than return to Celtic as manager. (Record), external

Former Celtic centre-half Moritz Jenz helped convince goalkeeper Alexander Schwolow to move to Heart of Midlothian this summer after leaving Union Berlin. (Transfermarkt), external

Ex-England striker Alan Shearer backs Hearts to win the Scottish Premiership and believes it would be good for the game. (Edinburgh Evening News - subscription required), external

Read Saturday's Scottish gossip

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Martin O'Neill says he has been "demanding help" from fellow interim boss Shaun Maloney and the rest of his backroom staff as the 73-year-old gets to grips again with management.

It's been six years since O'Neill held a permanent role as manager - with Nottingham Forest in 2019 - and two decades since he departed Celtic.

Now he is bidding to steer the Parkhead club to victory against rivals Rangers at Hampden on Sunday in his second game back to secure a place in the Premier Sports Cup final.

"I would not just need help, I'd be demanding help from them, absolutely," O'Neill said of his relationship with the his backroom team.

"They were terrific for me. With Shaun, we had something to eat together the night before the Falkirk game and I was appreciative of that. Not just that, but his knowledge of the team, things like that.

"And then Mark Fotheringham that I worked with as well, as he was a young kid here, they've been invaluable, as has the rest of the backroom staff. Really, really good.

"I'd be relying on some things. As we finish [this press conference] now, we'll be running through some homework now."

While the famous 'demolition derby' of 2000 came early in O'Neill's first tenure, the 73-year-old Northern Irishman admitted he is still playing catch-up on the capabilities of the current squad.

"Even if I was here a month or something, it would be really hard to gauge exactly what the players can do," he said.

"The best way for me to find out is naturally on the field of play. But then at the same time, there's no such thing as a 'gimme'. You can't put on somebody just to see what you're like. Sorry, the games are too important.

"By the time that we'd played Rangers [in 2000], I think we'd played five or six games, so I knew my players pretty well inside out at that stage. This is something I wouldn't know about our boys."

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill has been speaking to the media before his side's Premier Sport Cup semi-final against rivals Rangers.

Here are the points from the press conference:

• O'Neill admits being Celtic boss again is "still surreal" and reveals he hadn't seen the fixture list when he took the job, joking that if he had he "probably would have stayed at home".

• Old Firm derbies bring "a nervousness for about 72 hours before. If you got the result, there was a great relief. That's what the great Walter Smith used to say about it, it was relief more than anything else". O'Neill adds the nervousness is "worse this time round".

• He says replicating his derby debut as Celtic manager - the 6-2 demolition in 2000 - will be "extremely difficult" and he'd settle for a "lousy 1-0 victory".

• The physios and staff will assess Kelechi Iheanacho and Kieran Tierney. O'Neill hopes the latter - who missed the midweek win over Falkirk with a groin strain but is set to train on Saturday - will be fit for the game. Marcelo Saracchi missed training on Friday but will be "okay" to play.

• He calls Alistair Johnston "a lively lad" and "really nice fella" but the Canada right-back isn't available for games in the near future.

• On whether there will be many changes from midweek: "We'll have a think about it. [Daizen] Maeda obviously will come into [the reckoning], although he got about 25 minutes or something there in the game. So we'll see. I genuinely don't know. I've got another day to think about it."

• O'Neill has been "demanding help" from Shaun Maloney and the other coaching staff as he is "relying on them".

• He has "heard a lot of good things" about Danny Rohl - "a lot of the players at Sheffield Wednesday were very complimentary about him" - and thinks Rangers be confident after a "big win" over Hibs at Easter Road.

• Johnny Kenny scoring two goals in the 4-0 win over Falkirk makes O'Neill's selection decisions "probably more difficult".

Andrew Petrie
BBC Sport Scotland

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If you're using the percentage of games won while in charge of Celtic, Martin O'Neill stands alone at the top of the tree.

Not even Ange Postecoglou or Jock Stein could rival O'Neill's 75.5% win ratio during his five-year spell at the start of the millennium.

But, with the Old Firm going head to head on Sunday for a place in the Premier Sports Cup final, what is O'Neill's record against Rangers?

He made the best possible start. A 6-2 win was hailed as the 'Demolition Derby' and had statisticians dusting off the record books.

It was Celtic's biggest win over their arch rivals since the 1957 League Cup final, on the way to winning their first treble since the Stein era.

However, they did suffer a 5-1 loss to Rangers on their first trip to Ibrox just a few months later.

Had things evened up? Yes and no.

When Alex McLeish first arrived as Ibrox boss, O'Neill struggled to get the better of him.

In fact, he went six games without a win over Rangers in a run that included two Hampden heartbreaks - the League Cup semi-final and Scottish Cup final in 2002.

However, the tide turned again and O'Neill went on to win seven Old Firm derbies in a row, including a whitewash in the 2003-04 season in which Celtic won all five fixtures.

Overall, O'Neill won 16 of his 27 derby fixtures, drawing three, and lost just eight - a win percentage of 59% in all competitions.

It's the second-best record for a Celtic manager in this fixture behind his predecessor, Brendan Rodgers, with only one Rangers manager in front of him - Steven Gerrard.

At Hampden though, O'Neill's luck ran a little different. In four meetings at the national stadium, O'Neill only won one - a League Cup semi-final in February 2001.

It ends up being a bit of a mixed bag for O'Neill and Celtic then, but we are truly in unprecedented times when it comes to this fixture.

It is the first time in history Celtic and Rangers have both changed their manager mid-season. And interim Celtic boss O'Neill, 73, is twice the age of 36-year-old Rangers counterpartrt. In fact, Rohl was just 11 when O'Neill was first appointed back in 2000.

Sportscene pundits Jackie McNamara and Neil McCann give their thoughts and predictions for the Premier Sports Cup semi-final between Celtic and Rangers at Hampden on Sunday.

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Ange Postecoglou is set to take a break from football after being sacked as Nottingham Forest manager, ruling out any chance of a Celtic return. (Scottish Sun), external

Former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou is very unlikely to return to the Scottish champions at present, while it would take a great deal of convincing for Kieran McKenna to leave Ipswich Town mid-season, but Ferencvaros' Robbie Keane and former Shelbourne boss Damien Duff are being assessed. (Sky Sports), external

Former Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou says he needs a breather after leaving Nottingham Forest and Craig Bellamy will not leave Wales during their World Cup qualification campaign, but Kieran McKenna, along with Club Brugge head coach Nicky Hayen and Ferencvaros' Robbie Keane, would listen to Celtic about their managerial vacancy despite saying his focus is on Ipswich Town. (TeamTalk), external

Kieran McKenna could bring former Rangers winger Sone Aluko, who is one of his coaches at Ipswich Town, with him should he become Celtic manager. (Scottish Sun), external

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Johnny Kenny says Brendan Rodgers "changed my life" but hopes his first two goals under interim Celtic manager Martin O'Neill will "spur me on" to be a hero in "probably the biggest fixture in world football".

Celtic face city rivals Rangers in Sunday's Premier Sports Cup semi-final and the 22-year-old striker aims to retain his place after his brace in Wednesday's 4-0 Scottish Premiership win over Falkirk.

"It's probably the biggest fixture in world football," Kenny said.

"A few years ago, Adam Idah came in and scored a big goal against them in the Scottish Cup final. Hopefully I can replicate something like that.

"It would put us into another final and it's against our rivals.

"People will say we haven't been great in the last few weeks and this can be a statement victory come Sunday.

"It's a massive game and it would be a marker put down by us to get into another cup final."

Wednesday's goals were Kenny's second and third of the season after scoring in the 3-0 win over Livingston in August.

"Having got the goals the other night, hopefully it can spur me on," he said.

O'Neill took over against Falkirk after Rodgers resigned on Monday.

"Tuesday was obviously a hectic day - it was disappointing," Kenny added. "It was tough - it's the first time I've lost a manager in my career, so it was strange around the training ground.

"Brendan changed my life and changed my career. I'll be forever grateful for that, but obviously he's gone now and we just need to battle on."

Martin Watt
BBC Sport Scotland

The Honda Civic has roared into life with Martin O'Neill and Shaun Maloney at the wheel.

The Celtic interim management duo made a smooth start to the post-Brendan Rodgers era as Falkirk were dispatched 4-0 on Wednesday night.

But what was different under the new bosses?

Well, for a start, Celtic produced their biggest Premiership win so far, scoring 25% of their season's goal haul in one night.

After the ponderous, slow build-up that marked some of the final performances under Rodgers, Celtic were noticeably quicker and more direct against the Bairns.

Opta stats show Celtic had their fewest touches of the ball (702), second second-lowest possession (60.5%), and lowest number of passes (505) of their 10 league outings.

Celtic's four fast breaks was three more than they have mustered in any other game, while the 56 long passes made was their second highest, and the 33 successful long passes was a season high.

So they clearly got the ball forward quicker - and it proved effective.

O'Neill and Maloney's side registered 11 shots on target - their highest Premiership tally - and joint-most shots, 26. Seven of those shots came from Benjamin Nygren - no other Celtic player has attempted as many in the league this term - with the Swede netting the third goal.

Celtic's four 'big chances' is second only to the five they created against Livingston and Hibs, while their seven successful crosses on Wednesday night was a joint high.

So, plenty to admire about the fresh start after a tumultuous few days at Parkhead. The big question now is can they maintain that level of performance and steer a path past Rangers in Sunday's seismic derby to reach the League Cup final?