Celtic

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Julian Araujo is not ruling out making a permanent move to Celtic in the summer after his first goal for the club sealed Sunday's dramatic 3-2 win at Kilmarnock. (The Herald - subscription required), external

Luis Palma has told Celtic he wants to leave permanently to stay on at loan club Lech Poznan but the Honduras winger, who still has two-and-a-half years to run on his contract in Glasgow, admits it's out of his hands. (Daily Record), external

Paul McGinn is backing Motherwell defensive partner Stephen Welsh, on loan from Celtic, to play his way into Scotland's World Cup squad. (Scottish Sun), external

Six winning goals in the 90th minute or more for Celtic this season.

"They're not playing well, but they're not dropping points," pundit Michael Stewart said. "You'd think there'll come a point when the momentum [built] comes to the game, and you win games a little bit easier.

"If you're not playing well and scoring last minute goals, it helps to build the belief," he added.

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Interim manager Martin O'Neill joked that Celtic's past two victories, in which they scored winners in injury time, are "not great" for his health as he praised his players for digging out a vital three points.

At one stage, his side were 2-0 down to a struggling Kilmarnock side but came back to win it thanks to Julian Araujo's late winner.

"You can throw all the usual accolades around, but the players deserve them today because even at half-time, when we were so poor, there was still that feeling that we could turn it around if we could get a relatively early goal in the second half, and that's what happened," O'Neill said after the match.

"Obviously, it's unbelievably satisfying to win, and to win in the manner in which we did at the end was terrific.

"If that's the way you have to win the games, though, if you have to win them like that, you just can't keep doing that."

It's the second time in the space of a week that Celtic have struck late, after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored on his debut in the 91st minute to find victory over bottom side Livingston.

"It's both worrying me and, well, it's not great for my health. It's really draining, honestly," the 73-year-old said.

"Some of these lads, my coaching staff, I look around, they're much, much younger than me and I think they can take the strain, but not for me."

The interim boss also confirmed that Arne Engels is set to miss about six weeks with an injury.

The young Belgian midfielder was courted intensely by Nottingham Forest on the final day of the transfer window but Celtic rejected three bids for him.

"It's his thigh and it's a big loss for us, absolutely," O'Neill said.

Two Celtic stars, duos from Dundee and Dundee United, and a pair from Motherwell. It's time for Jonathan Sutherland's team of the week, so let's take a look and see who impressed...

Raphael Sallinger - Hibernian

Not a vintage weekend for goalkeepers. Sallinger gets the nod for a couple of stops and a clean sheet. An overall impressive addition at Easter Road.

Julian Araujo - Celtic

What a big goal. Ended up in hospitality with his celebration, but it was a big moment.

Stephen Welsh - Motherwell

Outstanding again after his goalscoring heroics midweek. An assist for Just as well. Not sure what Celtic don't see in him.

Ross Graham - Dundee United

Goal and a doughty warrior at the back. His four touches in the opposition box was only bettered by teammate Kristijan Trapanovski, while he made more clearances than any other player.

Cameron Congreve - Dundee

A continuous threat down the right for the Dark Blues. What a good loan signing he has been by Steven Pressley. Took eight shots and created three chances.

Craig Sibbald - Dundee United

Pulled the strings in midfield and scored a vital goal. Set up four chances, the most of any United player, and won more duels than any of his teammates.

Elijah Just - Motherwell

For me, Elijah Just has to be in with a shout of player of the season. The New Zealand international has been consistently excellent, showing guile, creativity and goalscoring ability. On the scoresheet again this weekend, against Aberdeen. Ghosts around the pitch with elegance, class and endeavour.

Sebastian Tounekti - Celtic

Loves Rugby Park. Great on his debut there, scored there against Auchinleck Talbot and sparked Celtic's comeback on Sunday with a goal of the season contender.

Simon Murray - Dundee

Murray in a hurry at Dens Park. After a barren spell, the Dundee captain looked pumped for action with his quick fire double.

Youssef Chermiti - Rangers

Michael Stewart told me on Sportscene he doesn't think Chermiti has the potential to be a top striker. But he has scored six of his seven goals this season against Celtic and Hearts, including his hat-trick yesterday on what was a huge occasion.

The challenge for the 21-year-old is to start delivering this sort of performance more consistently against the other sides in the Premiership.

Tyreece John-Jules - Kilmarnock

The former Arsenal youth - and nephew of Red Dwarf star Danny John-Jules - was a force of nature for Kilmarnock against Celtic, following on from his midweek hat-trick.

Scored a great goal, clipped the crossbar from a free-kick and just generally showed star potential. Such a shame he limped off with what looked like a thigh muscle strain.

We asked you Celtic fans for you opinions after the late win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. Here's a taste of what you had to say...

Chic: Fantastic second-half fightback after a dreadful first-half. The players need to believe that they can win every game until the end of season. Talent is there but every player must give 100%, and some didn't in first half. The league is there for the taking.

Daniel: First-half was woeful. Junior Adamu is way off it, I would much rather Kelechi Iheanacho. Second-half was miles better. The drive Sebastian Tounekti gives us is a must as Yang Hyun-jun and Diazen Maeda had none. Needs far more tempo, especially at the back.

Jim: Yet again we get a late winner, but the performance was abysmal from Reo Hatate and Kasper Schmeichel. They've not had a decent game since Martin O'Neill left the first time, and should be dropped. Not hopeful about the Rangers game but would settle for draw.

John: We can't keep getting away with these poor performances. So hard to watch. I think a few players need to be dropped. Hatate, Meada and Auston Trusty. Give the new recruits a chance to prove themselves.

Henry: Fantastic result at a tricky venue, we have a game in hand and are only three points behind the league leaders. Celtic can still win this league. All the supporters need to get behind the team and stop all this 'sack the board' nonsense.

Clem: Another below average performance. Central defence and defence midfield are suspect. Maeda and Hatate are shadows of the players they were and if the don't want to graft, then remove them from the starting line up.

Kudos to the rest of the players for never giving up. Play with that intensity from the start. Still believe.

Imran: Love the passion from Julian Araujo and what an ending! Other players need to be dropped now such as Hatate and Maeda as we looked much better in the second half. Tounekti should start and give Luke McCowan a chance. We need to control games more.

James: Another late, late show. Our central defence and goalie were extremely poor. Historically we have never really played well on, what is possibly, the worst pitch in the country but our defending was dreadful. Please don't allow the results to disguise the poor performances. However, three points gladly received.

Celtic recover from a two-goal deficit to secure a late Scottish Premiership win at Kilmarnock (UK users only).

Celtic came from two goals down to record a third late victory within seven days as they beat Kilmarnock 3-2 at Rugby Park.

Interim manager Martin O'Neill compared to the spirit to the team he led to glory in his first spell with Celtic 20 years ago and we want your thoughts.

Read the match report.

Have your say

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Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has compared his side's spirit to the title-winning team of his first spell in charge of the Glasgow side.

"The spirit the players has been absolutely fantastic," he said of their win in Kilmarnock after being 2-0 down.

"I managed, coached, a really top quality side here 20-odd years ago who had loads of spirit, loads of resilience, loads of ability.

"And these lads here are emulating that in many aspects and sometimes surpassing.

"It was a wonderful second-half performance for us.

"I thought we were very poor in the first half. As a team defending, we weren't that good then we keep giving the ball away at times, but the second half was totally different.

"We made the changes at half time and then Seb scores a wonder goal for us and puts us right back in the game, culminating in us winning the match.

"Kilmarnock adapted to the conditions, the rain, the pitch, much better than we did and sometimes you just have to dig in - and that's exactly what we did.

"You can't keep doing that. We've got to put in the full 90 minutes."

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Portuguese forward Tiago Tomas had to be comforted by his teammates when he broke down in tears after his Stuttgart side warmed up for Thursday's Europa League visit to Celtic with a 3-1 win over Koln.

Tomas, who rejoined Stuttgart from Wolfsburg last summer, had come on as an 84th-minute substitute on Saturday for his first appearance since December, with reports in Germany later claiming the 23-year-old's father died in January.

Asked if he could explain the background, head coach Sebastian Hoeness said: "No, I don't want to - that's something personal.

"But it very public. It wasn't an injury or anything. It was something family related and that's probably why, after such a long time, when he's back on the pitch, the emotions came up. The guys tried to comfort him and give him strength."

Earlier, a double from fellow forward Ermedin Demirovic helped Stuttgart return to winning ways after last week's 2-1 defeat away to second bottom St Pauli.

The victory, Stuttgart's fifth in six games, lifts Hoeness' side up to fourth in the Bundesliga, although RB Leipzig will regain that spot should they beat visitors Wolfsburg on Sunday.

Asked how it set them up for their knockout phase play-off first leg at Celtic Park, centre-back Jeff Chabot said: "We expect a great game and excellent atmosphere."

Demirovic opened the scoring against 11th-placed visitors Koln after 15 minutes, slotting home from 10 yards after fellow forward Jamie Leweling headed into his path.

Koln struck back with 11 minutes remaining when Luca Waldschmidt pounced on a slack pass out of the home defence and set up strike partner Ragnar Ache for a clever chip over goalkeeper Alexander Nubel.

Demirovic restored the lead five minutes later as he volleyed home at the near post from centre-back Ramon Hendriks' superb curling cross.

The three points were wrapped up in stoppage time, Germany forward Deniz Undav volleying in from 12 yards from midfielder Angelo Stiller's pass.

Stuttgart have made a habit of goals in the final quarter of matches this season, something Hoeness put down to "believing in themselves until the end".

Demirovic has now scored 10 goals in 20 appearances this season, four in his latest five, but asked about his fine strike rate, the 27-year-old Bosnia and Herzegovina international provided a simple explanation. "I'm the striker - I score the goals," he said.

Celtic and Rangers are both eyeing respective summer moves for highly-rated 22-year-old Dundee centre-half Luke Graham. (Football Insider), external

Kilmarnock midfielder David Watson, the 21-year-old who has been linked with Aberdeen, Bolton Wanderers and Celtic and is out of contract this summer, says he is leaving his future to his agent and concentrating on his football. (The Herald), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Celtic captain Callum McGregor believes Martin O'Neill's understanding of the club allows the interim manager to sprinkle some magic "dust" on the team.

The 73-year-old Northern Irishman has won 14 out of 17 matches over his two spells in charge this season and suffered only one defeat, while the two draws came after Celtic received red cards while leading.

"He's brilliant, he's very honest and he's very down the line," midfielder McGregor told Celtic TV.

"He tells you when it's good, he tells you when he wants more, but he's got an amazing feel for Celtic.

"When you understand Celtic and you understand what it's about, it gives you that feel to say the right thing at the right time - and he's had an amazing impact on the players."

McGregor points out that assistant Shaun Maloney and coaches Mark Fotheringham, Gavin Strachan and Stephen McManus have taking a lot of the training.

"But the manager just comes in and sprinkles that dust on top and he's an amazing man-manager and he is getting the best out of the group, individually and collectively," he said.

"So he's been amazing over the two spells so far and you can see that the boys are fighting for him."

"He's a brilliant man and he tells you exactly what you want to hear."

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Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann reflected on Martin O'Neill's ability to get his teams over the line as he prepares to renew rivalries with the Celtic boss.

McCann was a Rangers player during the first three years of O'Neill's initial spell in charge at Celtic Park, and will come up against the Northern Irishman again when the Premiership champions visit Rugby Park on Sunday, this time in the opposition dugout.

O'Neill's arrival in 2000 was the catalyst for Celtic becoming Scotland's dominant team, although McCann helped Rangers win the treble in 2003, when the Hoops reached the Uefa Cup final.

The 73-year-old appears to have retained his ability to instil a winning mentality in his team either side of Wilfried Nancy's brief and chaotic reign.

Celtic have only lost once in 17 games under O'Neill this season and have won 14 of those matches. They were down to 10 men in their two draws.

Stoppage-time goals have helped them get over the line in their past two matches against Dundee and Livingston, and McCann recognises the traits of O'Neill's leadership.

"Martin's shown again, and then again, how good a manager he is," McCann said.

"I've played against him when he was a manager at Celtic when I was playing at Rangers, understood what he demanded from his teams, how his teams went about things.

"I think he's just got that something that gets the team going.

"Whether they're playing sparkling Celtic football, as everybody tends to put the label on them, or not, they're finding a way of winning games, so we have to completely respect the challenge."

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Kilmarnock left-back Dom Thompson is back from suspension for Celtic's visit on Sunday.

Kyle Magennis, Djenairo Daniels and Matty Kennedy remain out through injury.

Celtic are set to be without Arne Engels after the midfielder went off with an upper leg injury against Livingston.

Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jota, Alistair Johnston and Callum Osmand remain out.

Celtic have no plans to make Benfica's Jose Mourinho their next permanent manager as they seek a long-term replacement for interim manager Martin O'Neill. (Football Insider), external

Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill has sought to temper expectations regarding a permanent deal for on-loan 24-year-old Bournemouth right-back Julian Araujo. (Football Transfers), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Late winners have been a hallmark of Celtic this season.

On Wednesday night debutant Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain rescued victory against bottom side Livingston with an injury-time strike.

The previous Sunday it was new boy Junior Adamu's 97th-minute backheel that took their Scottish Cup tie against Dundee to penalties.

And when Celtic last visited Rugby Park, back in September, an added-time penalty from Kelechi Iheanacho on his debut salvaged a 2-1 win.

Both sides have now have a different manager at the helm, but left-back Kieran Tierney is braced for another difficult afternoon on the artificial surface, especially as Killie have won their past two home games under Neil McCann.

"It's not even just the last couple of weeks," Tierney said. "The last-minute winners that we've had just shows that we never give up.

"There's more games at the start of the season where we did it, even Kels [Kelechi Iheanacho] on his debut at Rugby Park last time.

"It just shows the character and it's one of these seasons where it's going to take results like this and massive shifts in momentum and we just need to keep going now.

"The last few weeks Kilmarnock have had good results, better performances as well.

"It's always tough going there, it doesn't matter if they're on form or not, but now they're on form so it's going to be extra tough for us so we need to play well."

Celtic are the first of the top three to kick off on Sunday before Hearts travel to Ibrox later that afternoon.

When asked if Celtic can use their earlier kick-off to put pressure on their fellow title challengers, Tierney added: "You can look at it that way but we just need to win our games.

"We kind of need to focus on ourselves now.

"The last few results have been good, last-minute winners and we just need to try and keep going and keep creating the chances and taking them."

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Martin O'Neill feels rejuvenated by his surprise return to Celtic management this season.

The 73-year-old club legend initially took over as interim boss in October following Brendan Rodgers' resignation and then returned following again Wilfried Nancy's catastrophic tenure.

As O'Neill prepares to take charge of his 300th Celtic game on Sunday, he told the club's official podcast:, external "The players talk about benefits for them but it's beneficial for me.

"This is an opportunity and I might as well run with it because one, it'll never happen again, and two, I might as well enjoy it. Whether I enjoy managing I'm not so sure but I enjoy the results if we win, but life's not so good if you get beaten.

"I like donning a tracksuit and going out and watching young players perform and interacting with them."

Celtic are in the midst of a hectic run and after Sunday's trip to Rugby Park they host Stuttgart in the first leg of their Europa League knockout-round play-off.

"What was the point in having a terrific performance against Feyenoord, a backs-to-the-wall against Bologna, without trying to finish it off and qualify?" O'Neill added.

"I know that in many aspects these extra games might be the undoing of us but that's what bringing extra bodies in is for."

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• Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored the winner on his Celtic debut against Livingston last time out. The last player to score in both of his first two Scottish Premiership appearances for the Hoops was Moritz Jenz in August 2022, while the last British player to do so was Scott Sinclair in August 2016.

• This will be Martin O'Neill's 300th game in charge of Celtic in all competitions, the sixth manager to hit that milestone with the club. His 227 wins in 299 games to date is already the most within a manager's first 300 matches in charge (Jock Stein second with 224).

• After only winning two of their first 23 league games this season (D8 L13), Kilmarnock have since won two of their past three (L1). They have scored as many goals in these past three games (eight) as their previous 14 in the Premiership beforehand.

• Celtic have only lost one of their past 21 league matches against Kilmarnock (W18 D2), a 2-1 defeat in December 2023.

• Kilmarnock have lost their past six league meetings with Celtic, last losing more in a row in April 2015 (eight).

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Celtic defender Stephen Welsh admits it feels "even sweeter" to be back at Motherwell after an "odd" couple of weeks.

The 26-year-old spent the first half of the campaign on loan at Fir Park during which he became an integral part of a successful side.

But the centre-back was recalled by Celtic during the January window to bolster Martin O'Neill's defensive options.

Welsh started the Scottish Cup tie against Auchinleck Talbot and made one further substitute appearance before the arrival of Benjamin Arthur on loan allowed the defender to return to Fir Park on deadline day.

Welsh made an immediate impact in his first game back with the Steelmen, scoring a late equaliser against Rangers on Wednesday night.

"It was an odd couple of weeks for me because I didn't know what was going to happen," he admitted.

"The communication between the clubs was good but you truly never know what could happen.

"It went down to the last few minutes before coming here. I'm thankful that it did and I'm just glad to be back.

"It was a difficult couple of weeks. People don't see what goes on behind the scenes but I'm delighted to be back. I just want to play and hopefully that continues.

"It's no secret that it's hard to come through at a club like Celtic. To play the amount of games I have there, I'm very proud of that. But I'm a realist as well. A lot of different players come into the club.

"I made the decision to come here because I could see the manager's vision. To actually come back a second time is even sweeter. To come back, have my first game and experience such a good moment is great."

Motherwell's draw with Rangers allowed Celtic, who beat Livingston, to move a point behind their Glasgow rivals with a game in hand.

"I know it does [do Celtic a favour] because they're my club," Welsh added.

"But the main thing for me now is to help Motherwell.

"It's a massive point even though we deserved three. To actually dominate a full second half, including half an hour with 10 men, is excellent."

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Interim Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has urged the club to buy 27-year-old on-loan Boca Juniors left-back Marcelo Saracchi, who scored in Wednesday's win over Livingston, at the end of the season. (Glasgow Times), external

Former Arsenal and Liverpool midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who scored Celtic's winner in his debut against Livingston on Wednesday, has revealed his former footballer father, Mark, had urged him to sign for the Scottish champions when the opportunity arose to end his spell without a club last month. (The Herald), external

Motherwell forward Tawanda Maswanhise says he is keeping his head down and ignoring speculation linking him with Celtic and Rangers, but the 23-year-old admits his ambition is to play Champions League football. (Scottish Sun), external

Celtic assistant Shaun Maloney says he is still talks regularly with Roberto Martinez but insists he knows nothing about whether the Portugal head coach could be the Scottish champions' new manager this summer. (Sky Sports via Scottish Sun), external

Celtic earned a staggering £40m from playing in the Champions League last season. (Glasgow Times), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

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Squeaking past bottom side Livingston thanks to an injury-time winner isn't how Martin O'Neill would have expected to mark his 200th league game as Celtic manager.

In fact, the 73-year-old probably never expected to take charge of any more Celtic games when he left in 2005.

But a debut winner from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, scored in the 91st minute, had all the hallmarks of an O'Neill team this season.

During his 10 league games in charge across two interim spells, Celtic have scored 23 goals - four of those have come in the final 10 minutes and three were scored in the 90th minute or later.

O'Neill, though, would rather get the job done earlier. "If those late goals did prove resilience and a bit of character, that's great," he said.

"But I don't think you can live on your nerves for the rest of the time like that, expecting or hoping that you're going to dig out a winner very late on. It's not plausible."

Another intriguing point is Oxlade-Chamberlain's winner was the third time this season a Celtic player has scored a vital goal on their debut.

The first was Kelechi Iheanacho, who scored a 96th-minute penalty to secure a 2-1 win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in September, under Brendan Rodgers.

Then it was Junior Adamu in Saturday's Scottish Cup win over Dundee - his 97th-minute goal took the tie to extra time where Celtic won 2-1 - before Oxlade-Chamberlain rescued three points on Wednesday night.

That victory was O'Neill's 165th in 200 top-flight games with Celtic. He has drawn 20 and lost just 15. In fact, the Northern Irishman's win rate of 82.5% is the best any Celtic manager.

Ange Postecoglou is the closest to O'Neill with an 80% win rate over his 188 Premiership games. Neil Lennon comes next with 75.3% from 231 matches, followed by Rodgers with 75% from 76 games.

This season, O'Neill's win rate is at 90% for 10 games - the best of any current Scottish Premiership boss by some margin.

Rangers head coach Danny Rohl is second with 72.2% from 18 matches, while Hearts boss Derek McInnes is third with 65.4% from 26.

With that kind of record Celtic fans would surely be happy to have O'Neill in charge for another 200 league games.

And he notches another milestone this weekend against Kilmarnock - his 300th match in all competitions as Celtic boss.