Celtic's O’Neill Backs Engels' Decision Ahead of Champions League Play-off

Martin O’Neill has backed midfielder Engels’ decision to sit out Celtic’s Champions League play-off, even as he scrambles to plug the gap before the transfer window shuts.

The Celtic manager revealed the player opted not to feature in the crucial tie to avoid the risk of injury ahead of a move.

“He didn’t want to play in the matches in case he got injured,” O’Neill explained, adding that he understands the call, even if it has left him short in a key area at a critical time.

Replacement search goes to the wire

O’Neill admitted Celtic are still chasing a replacement but are running tight on time.

“We’re still in the process of trying to do that. We haven’t been able to get someone in, in time, to do that,” he said. “But there are a number of players that we’re looking at and hopefully we will by the end of the transfer window.”

The stakes are obvious. For O’Neill, the Champions League is about prestige first, balance sheets second. The money matters, of course, but only as a means to strengthen the squad before the group stage, not as the primary prize.

Hatate interest and a route back

Reo Hatate’s future hangs in the air as well. O’Neill confirmed there has been interest in the midfielder.

“But I don’t think there’s been anything definitive,” he said. “That may well happen in the next week.”

If no move materialises, O’Neill insists he would welcome Hatate staying to fight for his place and recover the level that once made him a standout in the league. Two seasons ago, O’Neill still sees him as having been “one of best midfielders in Scotland” and believes there is a route back to that standard.

Warning over “very fine” LASK

All of this plays out against the backdrop of a daunting tie. Austrian champions LASK, O’Neill insists, are no soft touch.

He called them a “very fine side” and expects a “very, very difficult” contest for Celtic. The preparation has been intense.

“We’ve watched them now on numerous occasions. We’ve had people watching them live,” he said. “They are very fast up front as well, lots of good players on the side. And they’re very, very strong. Physically strong as well.”

A first-leg cushion at home would be “lovely”, O’Neill conceded, but he refused to paint it as decisive. Failing to secure a lead, he stressed, would not be “the end of the world” before the return in Austria.

What matters now, he says, is the squad stepping up.

Celtic are “ready for the challenge” and O’Neill is convinced the summer’s work will show.

“It’s up to the players now as much as anything else. I think the quality that we brought in will bear fruit during the course of the season.”

O’Neill’s Champions League return

At 74, O’Neill is relishing a return to this stage he last graced more than twenty years ago. The sense of surprise is genuine.

“I didn’t think last September or October I’d be sitting here thinking about a Champions League game. If I was, I’d certainly be watching it on TV,” he said.

The old competitive spark is clearly still there.

“There are challenges in this Champions League. You could get nothing else but excited about it, which is fantastic, especially at my age.”

Rangers on the horizon

Looming just beyond Europe is another kind of cauldron. Celtic have been drawn away to Rangers in the League Cup quarter-finals, a tie that would normally dominate the headlines on its own.

O’Neill parked it, for now.

“I’m looking forward to it when it comes to it. Naturally, the concentration is totally in these two games. But it is what it is. We’re drawn away from home again.”

First, Austria. Then Ibrox. For O’Neill and Celtic, the season’s defining questions are coming fast.