Celtic boss Martin O’Neill given ‘food for thought’ ahead of Old Firm derby

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill admits he was handed some selection dilemmas ahead of Sunday’s derby after goalkeeper Viljami Sinisalo shone and a much-changed side secured a historic if academic win over Stuttgart.

Luke McCowan’s first-minute goal earned Celtic a 1-0 victory in the MHP Arena and their first triumph on German soil.

It was not enough to prevent Celtic bowing out of the Europa League knockout phase in a 4-2 aggregate defeat but it boosted morale following back-to-back defeats and before Celtic face Rangers at Ibrox in the William Hill Premiership on Sunday.

The damage was done in Glasgow last week and much of it by some poor goalkeeping from Kasper Schmeichel, who was culpable for two goals.

Sinisalo made six saves in his sixth Celtic appearance of the season and several of them were impressive stops.

The 24-year-old Finland international looked assured throughout and put pressure on Schmeichel for a place at Ibrox after some inconsistent displays from the Dane in recent months.

O’Neill, who made eight changes in all, said: “I thought he did really well, really well, in the game. I’m delighted for him, he’s a lovely lad.

“Everybody did well in the match. It gives me food for thought. Of course it does, absolutely.

“It’s not as if we’ve played some 16-year-olds. The players have all played, but some have played less football than others in recent times.

“I thought everybody came out with flying colours.”

O’Neill admitted McCowan’s early strike had him believing they could pull off a famous comeback.

“I’m delighted with the effort and determination they put into the game,” he added.

“We got off to a really great start. We felt as if we don’t concede in the first 20 minutes of the match, and maybe even nick a goal, we could still be in the tie.

“I got carried away with myself (after the goal). I thought, we’re going to do this here. Eventually, we have to create more chances and it wasn’t to be.

“It might have been interesting if Seb (Tounekti) had scored towards the last couple of minutes. It might have been a bit nervy for Stuttgart.

“I genuinely thought we could do it, but I might be asking a lot.

“We’re playing a very, very good side. A side, from my viewpoint here, capable of winning the competition.

“But I couldn’t be more pleased with the team, couldn’t be more pleased with attitude and desire.”