Celtic

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• After their 2-1 win in February, Hibs could enjoy back-to-back home league victories over Celtic for the first time since December 2018.

• Since the start of 2017-18, Celtic have won just 27% of their league visits to Easter Road (four/15), their lowest away win rate against any opponent in the Scottish Premiership in this period.

• Hibs have only lost one of their past 18 home league games (W11 D6), going down 1-0 to Rangers in October.

• Celtic have won three successive league games without conceding. The Hoops last won more in a row in December 2024 (seven), and last did so while keeping a clean sheet each time in their opening six league matches of last season.

• No side has scored more 90th-minute (or later) winners in the Premiership this season than Celtic (three, level with Hearts), including Callum McGregor last time out at St Mirren. The last club to score more in a single campaign in the competition were Rangers in 2016-17 (five).

• Against Motherwell on Tuesday night, Hibs had just two shots, their lowest in a Premiership match since February 2022 against Celtic (also two), and the joint fewest any side has managed in a single match in the competition in 2025-26 (Dundee also two v Hibs in August).

• Celtic's Callum McGregor has been involved in 76 open play sequences ending in a shot in the Premiership this season – at least 13 more than any other player.

• Hibs have scored five goals following high turnovers in the league – more than any other team – despite the fact only two teams have had fewer shots following high turnovers than David Gray's side (10) in the division this term (Aberdeen eight, Dundee seven).

Luis Palma's good form for Lech Poznan could persuade Wilfried Nancy to end the 25-year-old Honduras winger's loan early once the Frenchman is appointed Celtic manager. (Once Noticias), external

Interim manager Martin O'Neill privately voiced real reservations about his Celtic team's ability to go to Rotterdam and compete with - let alone beat - Feyenoord before leading them to a famous 3-1 Europa League win. (Graham Spiers on X), external

Read the rest of Saturday's Scottish gossip.

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Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill believes the club will return to prominence and "compete properly" again in European football.

O'Neill led Celtic to a first away victory in Europe since 2021 in Thursday's 3-1 win over Feyenoord, leaving them well placed to reach the knockout stages of the Europa League, with games against Roma, Bologna and Utrecht remaining.

The 73-year-old expects Sunday's Premiership match at Hibernian to be his last in charge with a deal for Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy believed to be close.

O'Neill enjoyed consistent success in Europe during his first spell as Celtic manager between 2000 and 2005, but the club failed to reach the Champions League this season and have suffered setbacks against the likes of Bodo/Glimt, Midtjylland, Malmo, Ferencvaros, Copenhagen, Cluj, AEK Athens and Maribor in recent years.

"What I think will happen is that Celtic will come back," O'Neill said. "They will compete properly in Europe. That's my strong belief and that should be the aim for this football club.

"Domestically we've been very, very strong. But you want to be strong in European football because that's what was set in 1967. And that, I'm afraid, is what it's all about.

"So we have to be that. Are we at this minute? No, we're not. Midjytlland taught us a lesson.

"But it was nice to restore some of that. And that might be a sign. It doesn't mean that we're going to take all the points. But qualification would be nice to get through into the knockout stages. That would be lovely. And it would be a start.

"But mark my words, Celtic will be back to properly involved in European football."

O'Neill hopes to have full-backs Colby Donovan and Marcelo Saracchi available for his final game.

Donovan was limping heavily before his cross led to Benjamin Nygren's clincher in Rotterdam and was replaced by Anthony Ralston. Saracchi is set to return from a hamstring problem.

"Colby got a stud in his foot, which looked quite nasty," O'Neill said.

"I thought he had taken cramp, but by the time he came off it was bleeding and it didn't look great.

"But I think he'll just push it off and say he wants to play, which is lovely. Saracchi wants to be fit all the time so he's available for Sunday, which is great."

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Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill has been talking to the media before his side's trip to Hibernian on Sunday.

Here are the best bits from his news conference:

• O'Neill says the 3-1 win at Feyenoord was a "throwback" to the days when Celtic had "brilliant footballers at your disposal".

• He was heartened by not just the "magnificent" performance but also the fight they showed to come from behind.

• O'Neill reiterated the importance that restored confidence has been in Celtic's recent winning run under his management.

• With Wilfired Nancy expected to be appointed, O'Neill is as bored as reporters regarding his future - but thinks there will be "movement" at the beginning of next week. O'Neill has had conversations with board members who say progress has been made.

• He praised the work of his backroom staff during his spell as interim manager and says the thrill of winning games never changes.

• O'Neill says his appetite for management will never go away, but admits he would have been "dubious" had he been offered a job by any club other than Celtic.

• Talking about Celtic's abandoned AGM, O'Neill says he wishes questions had been asked in a way that would have brought answers from the board. Stressed again that Celtic "united" is a far better club than one disunited.

• He thinks Celtic "will come back and compete properly in Europe" and that should be the aim moving forwards.

• O'Neill is unbothered by his legacy at Celtic, but says helping to "change the course of Rangers' dominance" in the early 2000s does make him proud.

• Team news: Colby Donovan had a stud in his foot against Feyenoord, but should be in contention to play at Easter Road. Marcelo Saracchi is also available.

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Celtic midfielder Benjamin Nygren was delighted to play his part in a "huge" Europa League win on Thursday and believes the club are heading in the "right direction".

The Parkhead outfit came from behind to beat Feyenoord 3-1 in Rotterdam - their first away win in Europe since 2021.

Nygren lashed in the third for the visitors, meaning Celtic have won five from six under interim manager Martin O'Neill, who is set to make way for Wilfried Nancy.

"It's been going a little bit up and down for us and that's not the way we've wanted it to be," the Sweden midfielder said.

"But I think lately we have stepped in the right direction with more wins.

"It feels huge and such an important win. It changes a lot. We're now back in it."

Unrest among the club's fanbase remains, but protests against the board were parked as the travelling support celebrated a famous night in the Netherlands.

With Celtic in the Premier Sports Cup final and four points off Premiership leaders Hearts, the off-field turmoil has been a source of confusion for some of Nygren's inner circle back in Sweden.

But the man himself says it shows how much they care.

"I have talked to friends and family about it," he said. "They have been asking me about it because they don't really know about it.

"You can see things from so many different perspectives. But my view is that it's such a big club and everyone really cares about it. So I just think it's a great thing.

"It would be weird if it was the opposite, if nobody cared that we missed out on the Champions League.

"You can feel it in the city when we lose a game. And if we win a game you can feel it. That's what makes the club so special and so big.

"I knew before I came here that Celtic was a massive club. But that's something I feel more now. Even although other clubs have a lot of fans, everyone here really cares. It's a part of their lives and what they live for."

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Former Scotland striker James McFadden on BBC Sportsound

Celtic looked so comfortable at times it was like a training session.

The reaction to going a goal behind, given they don't win many games away from home in Europe, was excellent.

Overall that was as good a Celtic performance away from home in Europe that I've seen.

The players will be shattered, but what a performance from them.

BBC Sport Scotland chief sports writer Tom English

I can understand Celtic wanting to look to the future, but maybe the obvious solution is staring them in the face.

With the group of players that was really struggling in the latter weeks and months of Brendan Rodgers' reign, Martin O'Neill's got a big win on the road in Europe on the big stage. They don't do that very often. And he's done it on his second attempt.

It just shows you the magnetism of the man. Even though he's 73 and he hasn't done it for a number of years, he's still got it.

Journalist Moira Gordon on BBC's Scottish Football Podcast

If not quite the swagger of Celtic of old, O'Neill has certainly brought back a bit more belief, a bit more positivity around the place, even in the dressing room, and you see it in the way the team are playing and approaching games.

Bizarrely he's probably putting a bit of extra pressure on the new guy coming in. They've seen what Martin can do, seen a wee bit of growth.

The new guy's going to have to come in and maintain that upward trajectory. If not, people will be suddenly be calling for Martin to come back again.

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We asked for your views after Martin O'Neill steered Celtic to a 3-1 Europa League win away to Feyenoord.

Here's what some of you said:

Edward: Top performance from a team committed to getting a result away from home at a very difficult location against a decent team, the season has just got really interesting. The manager has pulled another rabbit out of the hat, Martin O'Neill's legacy is enhanced.

Gerry: No one was confident seeing the teamsheet but well done to the players for getting at it and a massive thank you to Martin for bringing some joy back!

Paul: A very rare and momentous away day victory for Celtic in Europe, brilliant all-round squad performance, which could well be a turning point for them in an extremely difficult season thus far. It was refreshing to see Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate, Yang Hyun-Jun actually on their A-game and young Colby Donavan was superb too. Pity that O'Neill is leaving now as he's been instrumental in steadying the ship.

Neil: A great night in Europe. It was a pleasure to see the team play with some confidence and control large parts of the game. We defended when asked and have put ourselves back in the mix to qualify. O'Neill, if he wants it, should be part of the senior structure at our club. Take a hint, board. Martin would be a great mentor to any new coaching team. Thank you Martin for restoring some pride to my club.

Paul: Judging by the result, you'd think Celtic were great, but it was a dismal display and the result put an undeserved shine on our performance. Our goals came largely through Feyenoord's terrible defending. Some credit to Maeda for his pressing, but he's a shadow of last season's player. This squad need a rocket up them still and I hope the next manager has enough time before the transfer window to evaluate, because we need some freshness, pace and players with speed of thought.

Graham: The first time in a long while that the midfield three all performed at their best and as a unit. Hatate has finally turned up. Hopefully this can be the turning point on and off the field and the board can perform in the transfer market in January.

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• Feyenoord suffered their first home defeat against Scottish opposition in major European competition (W5 D1). They've now lost their past two against Scottish sides, as many as across their prior 11 combined (W7 D2).

• Across major European competition, the result was Celtic's first away win by a 2+ goal margin since a 3-0 Champions League victory over Anderlecht in September 2017, this serving as their 32nd match since that success.

• Celtic claimed their 10th win against sides from the Netherlands, only winning more matches against teams from Portugal and Switzerland (both 12).

• Yang Hyun-jun became just the second South Korean to score for Celtic in major European competition, after Ki Sung-Yueng against Udinese in the Europa League in September 2011.

• Reo Hatate has scored 2 goals in the 2025-2026 Europa League (one in this game), no Celtic player has more.

• Callum McGregor made his 69th appearance in European competition for Celtic during this match, the joint-most in the club's history alongside Billy McNeill.

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"It's been like a time machine and just how I thought it would be," said Luke McCowan of working with Martin O'Neill at Celtic.

"I would have loved to have seen him when he was 20 years younger and probably had more energy and more hunger!"

Thursday's 3-1 Europa League win over Feyenoord in Rotterdam was fifth win in six matches for 73-year-old O'Neill, brought in on a temporary basis following the resignation of Brendan Rodgers.

It ended the club's four-year wait for an away win in Europe and was Celtic's first success in the Netherlands since O'Neill led them to Champions League qualifying success against Ajax in 2001.

"He's amazing," McCowan said. "Just an unbelievable character. The way he talks in the team meetings, it's just brilliant. He just says stuff that is at the top of his mind there and then, and it just breaks the ice within the whole room.

"He's able to take the heat off a serious situation or a serious team talk, he's able to make it fun and light but at the same time tells you that there are demands that come with playing for this club.

"That's the main thing he always pushes. Even right after the game he came in and said, 'Right lads, we're in tomorrow, we've got a game on Sunday'. That was his first message.

"You can tell he's been a top manager and that is why he is so respected.

"His best quality is man-managing people and getting the best out of the crowd that he's got.

"It's just been great seeing the sort of demands he places on everybody, knowing that when you play for Celtic this is what is needed. Then he's just brought that humour with how he is, and it's been great. It's been class."

Former Celtic managers Ange Postecoglou and Brendan Rodgers are contenders to replace Daniel Farke at Leeds United, with the German under increasing pressure. (Talksport), external

Liverpool and Nottingham Forest are monitoring Celtic youngster Dara Jikiemi, who can sign professional forms with the Scottish champions at the end of the season. (Daily Record), external

Resurgent Celtic came from behind to claim a landmark victory over Feyenoord in the Europa League at a stunned De Kuip.

Read the match report

Have your say

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Celtic interim boss Martin O'Neill: "We played really well. There was a period in the game where we were totally dominant, controlling the ball and exuding a lot of confidence, which was lovely to see.

"Obviously going a goal behind, we could have crumbled. We showed character and resilience and then when we got the equaliser, the confidence flooded into the side.

"I said to the players before the game 'you will get a chance to play tonight'. We took that chance.

"I'm obviously thrilled for the team, there's a bit of selfishness attached to it all too. To win away from home is terrific.

"Judging from last season, the format, you are looking for 10 or 11 points to qualify. It won't be easy, but Celtic have two home games and the confidence is in the side now.

"I told my two brothers who came to the game to start my chant, so they must have done so. Might as well enjoy it while it lasts. In the dressing room, the lads are full of it.

"It's hard to say what I thought [when I took charge]. My two daughters were all in on going for it, but my wife said I would probably mess it up. I haven't messed it up so far. It's been great. The results are what you live by and they've been terrific.

"[The new manager] has got some players who are big winners, which is great. I'm sure he will lean on some of those lads and then it's about improving some of the other players.

"The restoration of confidence is big and it's keeping it going after that.

"Winning away from home is terrific - it's not easy away from home in Europe. It gives them belief that they can come and compete."

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Here's a question that may have some supporters spurting out their tea: does the Celtic board get enough respect?

The scenes at last week's AGM would suggest a club in crisis. Such open revolt would normally be associated with a failing team, an institution teetering on the brink financially, a raft of executives not fit for purpose.

None of which is the case at Parkhead. Home to the club with the country's healthiest bank balance and a run of success unprecedented in Scottish football.

Four trebles in a row in recent times; a virtual monopoly on domestic silverware extending to 13 Premiership titles from the past 14. A minute – and some sloppy defending – from beating Bayern Munich away in the Champions League knockout stage.

Sack the board? You're kidding, right? Football fans from Stranraer to Ross County would bite your hand off for a fraction of those trophies. The Parkhead custodians should be properly, and regularly, held to account. But all in good measure and with the proper perspective.

Fan power can work, of course. Celtic supporters need only look to their city rivals. The Rangers support was not prepared to tolerate Russell Martin, Patrick Stewart and Kevin Thelwell.

Rangers, though, have been a failing club; Celtic have not. Granted, large parts of 2025 have been pretty dismal. Both transfer windows, the Scottish Cup final, the Champions League fiasco with Kairat Almaty.

A worrying dip in corporate and sporting performance, yes. Sustained and catastrophic decline? Hardly.

The verbal grenades launched recently by Dermot Desmond are presumably because he's staggered at the suggestion he and his fellow board members haven't done a good job this century in the overall stewardship of the club.

They trumpet their model unashamedly: live within your means, buy low, sell high, speculate to accumulate when you can.

The rainy day they're preparing for is just around the corner. In summer 2027, the Scottish champions will face three rounds of qualifying to reach the Champions League. This season Celtic couldn't negotiate one.

There's every chance revenues will decline significantly in the next few years. Being prepared for that isn't just sensible. It's a fiduciary obligation.

Were the board asleep at the wheel of Brendan Rodgers' Honda Civic? Quite possibly. Firmer action from Desmond over the summer may have prevented all the recent carnage.

But are the executives who led the side to the verge of victory in the Allianz Arena suddenly not fit for purpose?

Given the state of other clubs in the UK, some Celtic supporters may want to be more careful what they wish for.

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Appointing Wilfried Nancy as manager is "going to be a gamble" for Celtic considering he does not even have a "huge profile" in his native France, according to AFP Sport football editor Andy Scott.

But he stressed on BBC Radio Scotland Breakfast that coming from Major League Soccer to the Scottish Premiership should not be seen as a step up for the 48-year-old Columbus Crew head coach.

"It is still perceived to be a big step up to go from MLS to a major European name, which Celtic are," Scott said.

"In terms of coming to a club with ambitions of doing well in European competition, that is where you are making a big step up to a level that he is not yet familiar with.

"In coming to work in the Scottish Premiership from the MLS, I wouldn't worry about that in terms of the step up, but it's a completely different football culture, that's for sure.

"We have to bear in mind that, these days, if you look at the quality of player in Major League Soccer, the reality is that it's a higher level than Scottish football for the most part. Wilfried Nancy has certainly worked with a high calibre of player."

Scott admitted Celtic's interest in Nancy is "a bit leftfield".

"He's not a huge profile in France," he said. "He's French, but he didn't play in the top flight and he's been working in north America for the last decade and more.

"So this is the opportunity he has been looking for I think to come back to Europe and work for a big club here.

"He's got a great track record. He's done very well in the MLS and previously he was working at Montreal under Thierry Henry as his assistant, so he's been working with some big names in the coaching industry.

"This is a guy who has been linked with some big jobs in the French league in the past year and now he's got the opportunity to come to Europe with Celtic.

"It's going to be gamble for Celtic, but clearly it's a job that he believes he is up to."

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Columbus Crew head coach Wilfried Nancy is on the verge of becoming Celtic's new manager, with only final details to be sorted over his contract. (Fabrizio Romano on X), external

Crew assistant Kwame Ampadu will join Nancy at Celtic, with the Scottish champions finalising the paperwork for the Frenchman to become their new manager. (Sky Sports), external

Interim manager Martin O'Neill suggests Celtic will need to spend significantly under expected successor Nancy. (Sun), external

Celtic are optimistic they can fend off increased competition to sign Shamrock Rovers striker Michael Noonan despite reported interest in the 17-year-old from Manchester City and Manchester United. (Irish Sun), external

Forward Kyle Ure, who has been on loan at Ayr United, is back at Celtic for rehab following an injury picked up on Scotland Under-21 duty. (Sun), external

Stephen Welsh could force Celtic into a January decision about his loan to Motherwell because his form has the 25-year-old knocking on the door to the Scotland squad. (Record), external

Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen face crunch time on Thursday for Scotland's ailing coefficient. (Scotsman - subscription required), external

Read Thursday's Scottish gossip

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Head coach Robin van Persie says Feyenoord's Europa League meeting with Celtic is "in honour" of his mentor Wim Jansen, who enjoyed success with both clubs.

"Icon" Jansen came through the Feyenoord youth ranks and helped them beat Celtic in the 1970 European Cup final before captaining the club to Uefa Cup glory.

As manager he steered Feyenoord to two Dutch Cups and served as technical director, then spent a brief but memorable spell in charge of Celtic, winning the league in 1998 in his sole season to ruin Rangers' bid for 10 in a row.

Jansen died in January 2022 at the age of 75.

"Wim has been an icon for Dutch and Scottish football because of that year he had with Celtic," said former Man United and Arsenal striker Van Persie.

"In this way, I feel we are playing a game which, in my opinion, is actually in honour of Wim Jansen.

"I used to play in the youth team at Feyenoord academy. The first thing I would always do, when I came on to the pitch, was look over to the corner flag on the left side of the clubhouse. That corner was always where Wim was. I always wanted to make sure he was there.

"Why? Because I only wanted to impress one person and that was Wim. If I knew he was at the corner flag then he would be watching. And he was always at all of my games. Wim was the man who triggered me often.

"He once said to me, when I was a very young player, that he wanted to see in the first five minutes of a game that I was the best of all the players on the pitch. He said 'that is what you have to show'. That was one of those small details when he triggered me.

"I have so many memories to think back on with massive pleasure. Wim was such a big football man."

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator in Rotterdam

Interim manager Martin O'Neill has been speaking to the media on the eve of Celtic's crucial Europa League match away to Feyenoord on Thursday.

Here are the key points from the new conference:

• He started by stating there is no update with regards a new manager being appointed.

• O'Neill acknowledged his interim spell in charge is coming to an end with Celtic expected to announce Wilfried Nancy as permanent boss.

• He says he would rather have had a European send-off at Celtic Park.

• He is anticipating a "difficult" match despite Feyenoord's recent struggles and says Celtic go into the game with confidence despite not playing "particularly brilliantly" in the last-gasp win at St Mirren last weekend.

• O'Neill praised Feyenoord as a club and the historical connection between the sides, remembering the 1970 European Cup final in which Jock Stein's favourites lost to the Dutch three years on from victory in Lisbon.

• He adds: "The 1970 European Cup final was a massive disappointment for us. We'd beaten Leeds United in the semi finals and we were expected to win and Feyenoord come up and win the game, so it does have history attached to it."

• Kelechi Iheanacho, who has missed the past six matches through injury, is back in contention but this game may be too soon for the striker. Left-back Marcelo Saracchi has also returned to training after injury.

• O'Neill lamented the number of players unavailable to him during his short stint in charge: "If the players could stay injury-free then that would be great. We haven't had the use of a number of quality players. You're looking for fit people, we will see.

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator in Rotterdam

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Former Celtic and Feyenoord forward Regi Blinker admits Thursday's Europa League clash in Rotterdam is huge for his old clubs.

Both sides are in a fight to reach the next round at the midway stage of the league phase, with the Scottish champions a point better off than the Dutch prior to the match at De Kuip.

"It's a very big game, especially when you see that both teams have their own problems and their own situations," Blinker told BBC Scotland.

"For Celtic, they haven't won a lot of away games in Europe and Feyenoord now have lost three games in a row and also against opponents they should have beaten.

"It's a very important one because I think even in the media they are saying Feyenoord might be in a very small crisis and van Persie doesn't want to hear that at all.

"But I think Robin is the right person at the right place, there's quite a lot of injuries at Feyenoord. This is an important game for both teams because they both need that win."

Blinker, who spent three years at Celtic between 1997 and 2000, believes it'll be important that the visiting players handle the atmosphere.

"This is a difficult one for every team that comes to Rotterdam," he said.

"You're playing against 12 men, the audience are the 12th man here. But the Celtic players should be used to a loud crowd.

"But here, the influence of the crowd is there and you can feel it, the players are motivated by it. But if it's not going so well, you can feel that too. For Celtic it will be an extra hurdle.

"Celtic will also have to watch for Feyenoord's attacking players.

"It's great to have Celtic here in Rotterdam and obviously I am going to be there. It'll be a very exciting game, especially with the pressure on it.

"I think the two teams are quite level to each other."