Celtic

Jonathan Sutherland
Sportscene presenter

Image source, SNS

Without Benjamin Nygren's continual supply of goals, this season would look very different for Celtic.

Their strikers have struggled to deliver on a consistent basis, but midfielder Nygren has stepped up to shoulder the burden by netting 21 times to top the club's scoring charts.

He isn't done yet. Dunfermline await at Hampden on Saturday as Nygren bids to complete his debut season in Scotland with a league and Scottish Cup double before heading to the World Cup with Sweden.

And while he is set for a key role in Martin O'Neill's side this weekend, the 24-year-old remains baffled by his omission from December's League Cup final defeat to St Mirren under Wilfried Nancy.

"That's not a question I can answer, unfortunately," he tells BBC Scotland of Nancy's decision not to start him.

"That's a question for the manager I had at that time.

"I want to play in every big game and every final to help the team win every game I can. Not being able to do that is very disappointing."

Of the 21 times he has netted for Celtic, Nygren counts a stunning goal that was ultimately overshadowed by a certain penalty decision as one of his favourites.

"I really like my last goal, against Motherwell away," he adds, recalling his strike which put Celtic 2-1 up at Fir Park last week.

"It was a very important game and if we didn't win, it would have been a lot more difficult to win the league title."

Along with Nygren's goals, leadership has been a huge factor throughout this Celtic campaign. Sometimes the lack of it.

Brendan Rodgers departed, Nancy came and went. Martin O'Neill's return to the helm has helped conjure a Celtic fairytale ending to a season that at one point looked lost.

"He's even funnier than I first expected," Nygren says of the 74-year-old.

"He knows what it's about - it's about winning."

It is a trait Nygren feels is shared by skipper Callum McGregor throughout what has been a turbulent campaign.

"He's the best captain I have had so far," he added. "And I take so much inspiration and learn so much from him that I will take on with me for the rest of my career.

"He's a great leader. He's an even greater person. The first day I came in at Lennoxtown he spoke to me immediately, texted me immediately.

"He's a great leader and also a great player. The winning mentality he has is unbelievable."

Scott Brown reunites with former Celtic boss Neil Lennon as the Dunfermline manager prepares to face his old club in the Scottish Cup final on Saturday.

Watch the full interview on BBC One Scotland's coverage from 14:15 BST on Saturday.

Celtic fans, we asked for your views as to whether Martin O'Neill should remain as manager for next season.

Here's what some of you had to say:

Kenny: Martin should at least be offered the job before anyone else after what he has achieved in the short time he's been there. Celtic need a rebuild and it would be silly throwing money at someone else and ending up where we were at the start of the season. Put trust in Martin and give him a two-year deal.

Thom: Absolutely keep him. Start preparing for a replacement now though with the proviso of MON moving upstairs in an advisory capacity when a new replacement is identified. Massive changes needed throughout the club. Let's be proactive.

Robert: Absolutely, he's earned the right to stay on. He's also earned the right to walk away and hand over the reins to someone else if he chooses to but the Celtic board have to sit down and see where his head is at.

Cammy: He absolutely deserves to be kept on, whether I want him to be kept on is a different matter. The style wasn't great, the results were ground out. In Europe though we did better than expected with what he had. If the recruitment this summer is improved dramatically then his presence, along with the coaching team, will do well. I'd like to see a set-piece coach added, we've been rotten in that department for too long.

David: If the Celtic board haven't already identified their man, and had him already evaluating the current squad, then heads should roll (I suspect they won't). My choice for manager is Kjetil Knutsen. Tell him he's got £100m to spend on a three year deal/project. That might tempt him.

Jack: Martin has only increased his status as a club legend, build the statue, but a club the size of Celtic needs to think more long-term with such a significant squad rebuild required. The three teams competing for the title this year are all going to fancy their chances over the next few seasons, so the upcoming summer is vital. We need to bring in someone who has a multi-year vision and plays an attractive style of football.

Image source, SNS

Will "electric" Daizen Maeda be the difference-maker again for Celtic as they bid to complete the double?

The Japan international has scored eight goals in his past six games and is eyeing Scottish Cup glory over Dunfermline after inspiring his side to the title.

"I think he's proven to be the not just a matchwinner for them this season, but probably the title winner for them as well," former Celtic striker Cillian Sheridan told the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast.

"He was stepping up at crucial times, getting big goals.

"You could clearly see he did go off the boil a bit. I don't know if it's Martin O'Neill has got something out of him and got a spark back at his game. He's been crucial the last maybe five or six weeks.

"If the season was 90 minutes, he's come alive at around the 70/75 minute mark.

"If you're Neil Lennon, you want him to have one of his off days. He's a strange player where his off days are really off, but when it clicks for him, he's electric."

Despite a turbulent campaign, Celtic are within touching distance of a domestic double under Martin O'Neill.

"They have shown an incredible way of winning games, not just this season, but for decades now," former Premiership striker Rory Loy said.

"I think from now on you write them off at your peril, regardless of their form, regardless of their league position.

"As long as they're still in touch, they are mentality monsters."

Liam McLeod
BBC Sport Scotland Commentator

Image source, SNS

• Celtic are aiming to win a league and Scottish Cup double for the 14th time.

• Dunfermline are aiming to become the fourth lower-league side to win the Scottish Cup after Hibernian (2016), East Fife (1938) and Queen's Park (1893).

• This is the fifth time the sides have met in the Scottish Cup final and the third time this century - all won by Celtic.

• Dunfermline's last Scottish Cup win over Celtic was in the first round in 1968.

• This is their first meeting since a League Cup second-round match in August 2019 when Lennon was Celtic manager.

• Dunfermline's last win over Celtic at Hampden was their Scottish Cup final win in 1961 under Stein.

• Dunfermline have only won four of the past 61 meetings between the clubs - all those Pars victories came at Celtic Park.

David Currie
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

Image source, SNS

Viljami Sinisalo has revelled in being Celtic number one and won't give up the gloves without a fight as a summer of change looms at Parkhead.

The Finland international replaced the injured Kasper Schmeichel as first-choice goalkeeper in February and helped Martin O'Neill's side secure the Premiership title to leave long-time leaders Hearts crestfallen.

As he looks to end the campaign with another trophy in Saturday's Scottish Cup final against Dunfermline, 24-year-old Sinisalo reflected his personal progress.

"I've always said it, I want to play for this football club as a number one," he said.

"And to have that chance I've got to be really grateful to the manager for putting me in at Stuttgart and that's when it kind of started and then obviously the Rangers game after that.

"I'm still a young goalkeeper trying to get better every day, that's very much the mentality and that'll never change.

"If you get a little taste of being a number one you just want to keep doing that and you want more and more and more.

"It's the same as winning trophies - it's you win one, you want to win the next one, you want to win the third one after that. You never get bored of it.

"There's always a lot of pressure as a Celtic player but even more as a goalie because eyes are on you and every little mistake is obviously vital.

"I've chosen my position so I very much understand that and I accept that. I'm still growing, I'm trying to get better every day. I'm never going to come here and say I'm the finished article. I want to get better every day as I get more games under my belt."

Completing the Premiership and Scottish Cup double would be a "sweet feeling" for Sinisalo, who hailed the leadership of senior players in Celtic's late-season title charge.

"We as a group were really lucky to have a lot of winners in the changing room, people that are leaders. You've got Calum McGregor, James Forrest, people that have been there a while," the Finn said.

"There's so many I could rhyme off so we've got a good group of core lads in the changing room who've won a lot here and know what it takes to win. That's definitely helped us get over the line over the last couple of weeks.

"A lot of things have happened this season and people have gone through a lot - not just the players and staff. The people following us around the country and around Europe have gone through a lot a lot of emotions watching us, so if we could end the season with a cup win it would be special."

Fourth round: Auchinleck Talbot 0-2 Celtic (18 Jan)

Last year's runners-up Celtic made hard work of avoiding a historic Scottish Cup upset, with a late Sebastian Tounekti strike finally putting the tie beyond sixth-tier Auchlinleck.

Johnny Kenny gave Martin O'Neill's men the lead after half an hour but they were far from convincing in booking a last-16 spot.

Fifth round: Celtic 2-1 Dundee (7 Feb)

Celtic looked to be heading for the exit following Ethan Hamilton's outstanding strike early in the second half.

But debutant Junior Adamu forced extra time with a backheel finish from fellow substitute Tounekti's low cross in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

Tounekti completed the comeback to set up a derby trip to Ibrox.

Quarter-finals: Rangers 0-0 Celtic (aet, Celtic win 4-2 pens) (8 March)

In a combustible tie marred by pitch invasions from both sets of fans, Celtic showed grit to prevail on penalties after mustering just one shot in 120 minutes compared to 24 for Rangers.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Auston Trusty and Reo Hatate all scored in the shootout as James Tavernier and Djeidi Gassama missed for Rangers.

That gave Tomas Cvancara the chance to send Celtic through - and the Czech calmly sent Jack Butland the wrong way to book Celtic's Hampden semi-final against their League Cup conquerors St Mirren.

Semi-finals: Celtic 6-2 St Mirren (aet) (19 April)

Celtic were cruising with a 2-0 lead at half-time after Daizen Maeda struck in the opening minute and Anthony Ralston doubled the advantage.

But Mikael Mandron stunned Martin O'Neill's side with a second-half double to force extra time.

What followed was a sensational scoring blitz as Kelechi Iheanacho (2), Luke McCowan and Benjamin Nygren hit Saints for six to set up a Scottish Cup final with Dunfermline.

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill says allegations Hearts players were assaulted amid Saturday's pitch invasion "has not been proved".

Read more

Martin O'Neill has kept the door open to extending his stay as Celtic boss and expects talks with Dermot Desmond after the Scottish Cup final.

The 74-year-old had been out of management since 2019 before riding to Celtic's rescue with two interim spells this season.

Having steered the club to a dramatic title success with seven straight wins to pip Hearts glory, O'Neill is now bidding to complete the double with victory over Neil Lennon's Dunfermline on Saturday.

He is in contention for the permanent job along with the likes of Robbbie Keane and Craig Bellamy, while Jens Berthel Askou - who had been linked with the Parkhead hotseat - has instead left Motherwell for Toulouse.

So, where should Celtic turn? After his triumphant return, has O'Neill done enough to be kept on? Or do Celtic need a clean break and should look elsewhere?

Let us know your thoughts.

Burnley have stepped up their interest in Wales head coach Craig Bellamy, who has been touted as Martin O'Neill's potential successor at Celtic. (The Herald - subscription required), external

According to sources in Uruguay, Celtic are in talks to sign 18-year-old midfielder Agustin Dos Santos, the son of former Mexico midfielder Jonathan. (Daily Record), external

Read the rest of Friday's Scottish gossip.

Image source, SNS

When pre-match handshakes are exchanged in the Hampden dugouts between Martin O'Neill and Neil Lennon ahead of this weekend's Scottish Cup final, it will be the master facing off against his apprentice.

O'Neill has taken charge of more than 1,000 games as a manager, with 389 of those featuring Lennon as a player starting at Leicester City before a trophy-laden spell at Parkhead.

Their first meetings in opposing dugouts this weekend will pit two managers against one another who have won a combined 18 trophies when in charge of the club.

They were last involved in a competitive game together in 2005, when Celtic triumphed in that season's Scottish Cup final over Dundee United.

Over two decades later, they will go again.

"Not only did he do brilliantly as a player, but he did fabulously as a manager, his record is quite extraordinary," O'Neill said.

"I think, yes, there's no question [he is a dangerous manager to face].

"His run this year in the Cup has been terrific, knocking out three top-flight teams as well along the way.

"I know he mentioned that the game against Falkirk was a bit attritional in the semi-final, but they found a way to win, stayed through it until they got through on penalty kicks."

Despite Dunfermline's disappointment at losing out in the Premiership play-off semi-final, O'Neill isn't expecting the Pars to be licking their wounds.

He added: "And his efforts for Dunfermline this season, I think, [have been] a bit unlucky.

"Certainly, watching the game against Partick Thistle, he had a great chance to go clear in the game, but that didn't happen.

"So, there'll be probably a bit of disappointment from that viewpoint, but he will have the team really up for the game, no question about that."

The latest news and views on the Bhoys in two minutes, every weekday afternoon.

Listen below or on BBC Sounds here - and don't forget to subscribe to get each episode into your My Sounds feed.

Charlotte Cohen
BBC Sport Scotland

Image source, SNS

If Daizen Maeda is nearing the end of his Celtic career, what a way to go out.

The 28-year-old Japan forward, who was denied a move last summer, is entering the final year of his contract and recently spoke of his ambition to play in the English Premier League

And for large parts of this campaign it looked as though Maeda had one foot firmly out the door.

Between matchday one and 22 in the Scottish Premiership, he registered just seven goals - not a great return for your number one striker.

Things went downhill from there. For his next 11 league matches, Maeda failed to register a goal or an assist as Celtic's title chances appeared to dwindle.

But in a resurgence for the ages, Maeda found form at the perfect time.

The spark was rediscovered in the Scottish Cup semi-final win over St Mirren as Maeda charged down a clearance in the opening seconds to end his goal drought.

From there, he was the standout player in Celtic's late charge for the title, scoring in all five post-split fixtures.

First up was the 3-1 win over Falkirk where Maeda was involved in all Celtic's goals, scoring two and setting up Kieran Tierney for the other.

He followed that up with the opener in the 2-1 victory over Hibs at Easter Road.

Even better was to come. With the Old Firm derby on a second-half knife-edge at 1-1, Maeda put Celtic ahead with a typical instinctive finish - then conjured a spectacular overhead kick that is already assured iconic status.

With that win, and Hearts' draw at Motherwell the previous evening, Martin O'Neill's side were a point behind the league leaders with a game to spare.

Maeda would then score the opening goal in a dramatic 3-2 victory at Fir Park that took the title race down to a winner-takes-all clash with Hearts on the final day.

We all know what happened next. Lawrence Shankland put Hearts ahead, Celtic - lackustre in the first half - levelled on the stroke of the interval with an Arne Engels penalty.

With Hearts only needing to draw and with the clock ticking down into the final few minutes, it looked as though the trophy was headed to Tynecastle.

But, with three minutes to play, Maeda adroitly turned in Callum Osmand's low delivery to spark Celtic elation before Osmand's last-gasp goal made sure.

Maeda will likely have at least one last dance in Saturday's Scottish Cup final against Dunfermline but regardless of what happens this weekend, if the Japan international is to depart Celtic this summer, he will leave a hero.

Celtic will wait to see how Oxlade-Chamberlain performs in pre-season before deciding whether to trigger a one-year contract extension for the 32-year-old midfielder. (Football Insider), external

Sporting Lisbon have made a move for 21-year-old Hacken midfielder Silas Andersen, who is likely to command a £6m fee and who has been previously linked with Celtic and Rangers. (Record), external

Rangers centre-half Emmanuel Fernandez received the biggest market value upgrade of any player in the Scottish Premiership this season, with the 24-year-old's valuation soaring by £7.8m to £15.6m, while striker Youssef Chermiti is up £5.2m to £13m and Celtic midfielder Benjamin Nygren up £3.5m to £12.1m. (Transfermarkt), external

Read Thursday's Scottish Gossip in full.

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

For his next trick, Martin O'Neill proposes to make a league and cup double appear right out of thin air.

He's already halfway there, of course, having nudged Hearts into second place in the Premiership in those final few incredible minutes of that epic winner-takes-all encounter for the ages.

Cruel? Not if you're in any way connected with Celtic. More wins, more points, more goals scored. Further evidence of the Northern Irishman's magic touch.

It first appeared at the end of October when, after successive domestic defeats to Dundee and Hearts, Brendan Rodgers resigned. With a swish of his wand, O'Neill swapped coffee shops on London's King's Road for six wins in a row domestically, including making Rangers disappear from the League Cup at the semi-final stage.

He then left the stage with a flourish while Wilfried Nancy did a magic trick of his own, making Celtic's entire prospects for the season appear to vanish into thin air. Twelve Premiership points from 18 went up in a puff of smoke, leaving the Parkhead side lurching towards irrelevance.

Cue the wizard's return for a second coming. Celtic were six points behind leaders Hearts and level with a resurgent Rangers who'd just scored three unanswered second-half goals in the derby at Parkhead. Crisis time? In breezed O'Neill once again, full of self-effacing charm and very much up for the chase.

And chase he did. Ten matches unbeaten until defeats to Stuttgart and Hibs threatened to ruin his encore. In the 14 subsequent games, the magic only wavered once, at Tannadice.

The spell held firm everywhere else, including trips to Ibrox on league and Scottish Cup duty which resulted in a hard-earned point and safe passage to the semi-finals respectively.

Needing, realistically, to take maximum points from his final seven Premiership matches, 21 were duly collected as Celtic pipped a frazzled Hearts to the finishing line in the most memorable league finish in decades.

Dunfermline will need the performance of their lifetimes to stop this O'Neill-fuelled Celtic juggernaut at Hampden on Saturday.

With supporters, players and potentially several key board members in his thrall, has the wily old magician worked his way into concocting something more permanent from his second interim spell?

After failing to get past the Champions League group phase in the early 2000s with the likes of Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton, Paul Lambert and his Hampden counterpart this Saturday, Neil Lennon, at his disposal, could Martin O'Neill turn down one last crack at the European elite?

Could the blazers at Celtic really send him packing if he fancied trying his luck for one more season?

He'd need a big whack of investment and potentially an entirely new squad. If the wizardry hasn't worn off by the close of play at Hampden on Saturday, however, the clamour to leave the sorcerer to his fiendish work may well prove irresistible.

Image source, SNS

Former Celtic midfielder Roy Keane has hailed Martin O'Neill for driving the club from "disarray" to a dramatic title success this season.

When the Northern Irishman returned in January for his second interim spell following a disastrous six league games under Wilfried Nancy, the club were six points behind leaders Hearts.

But the 74-year-old got Celtic ticking again and they ended the Premiership season with a run of seven straight wins, including a final-day decider against Hearts, to snatch a fifth title in a row.

And Keane, who assisted O'Neill during his Republic of Ireland tenure, was impressed not just with the achievement, but the manner of the turnaround.

"He's gone in there working with people he's never worked with," Keane told The Overlap, external.

"Getting them all on side, getting his football points across.

"We go on about managers needing time, he didn't need time. He went into that group of players, got a grip of them, managed upwards with the board and fans and got them winning football matches.

"For a manager to have gone to a club that was in disarray, that's top-level management."

Ex-Arsenal, England and Celtic striker Ian Wright felt that if it wasn't for O'Neill, the title trophy would have had Hearts' name on it.

"If Martin doesn't go in there they don't win that," he added.

"Hearts win that. That's the thing for Hearts, unfortunately he was the one who went in there [as manager]."

Image source, SNS

Former Celtic, Hearts and Scotland player Mike Galloway has died at the age of 60.

Galloway joined Hearts from Halifax Town for £60,000 in 1987 and went on to make 86 appearances for the Tynecastle club, scoring 22 goals.

Comfortable in defence or midfield, Galloway helped Hearts to a runners-up finish in the top flight in 1987-88.

He shone the following season in their run to the Uefa Cup quarter-finals - which remains Hearts' best European campaign.

Galloway moved in 1989 to Celtic where he played 160 games, although honours eluded him during a fallow period for the club.

England-born Galloway earned one cap for Scotland, in a 1-0 defeat to Romania in a European qualifier in 1991.

Following a brief loan spell with Leicester City, his playing career ended at Celtic in 1995 following a near-fatal car crash. He later had coaching stints with Tranent Juniors, Wooler, Coldstream, Berwick United and Eyemouth United.