Celtic actively looking at Scottish transfer market as Martin O'Neill breaks silence on Fir Park scouting mission
The Hoops boss felt his side were ‘wasteful’ in their 2-0 Scottish Cup win over Auchinleck Talbot on Sunday
Celtic boss Martin O’Neill admits he is looking at the Scottish market with a view to bolstering his squad before the end of the transfer window.
The Hoops manager watched his side limp through to the Scottish Cup last-16 with a low key 2-0 victory over sixth-tier Auchinleck Talbot at Rugby Park on Sunday evening.
A number of fringe players were presented with an opportunity to impress - namely Michel-Ange Balikwisha in the No.10 role - but O’Neill felt his side were far too wasteful in the final third of the pitch.
The Irishman was spotted in the stands at Fir Park on Saturday alongside assistant coach Mark Fotheringham as part of a scouting mission amid growing speculation that the champions are preparing a move for Motherwell’s Tawanda Maswanhise.
The 23-year-old Zimbabwe international scored his third goal in as many games since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations and O’Neill refused to dismiss the suggestion that he was a player on his radar.
“That was a football mission,” he said with a wry smile. “That was a part of my job to watch, to look at other games if I can get an opportunity. I went there after training with (Mark) Fotheringham. I would like to say I enjoyed the game. You’re testing me to the utmost...”
O’Neill made it clear that he expects transfer business to be completed soon, with at least one new arrival expected before next Sunday’s mouth-watering clash against Hearts.
Providing an update on where Celtic stand, O’Neill told Premier Sports: “I dread this question, but we are making some progress and hopefully we will get players in before the end of the season!”
Asked to elaborate further on the club’s transfer dealings in his post-match press conference and if there were individuals currently playing in the Scottish Premiership who might fit the bill, the 73-year-old said: “I was asked the question last week and absolutely there are players here, no doubt about it.
“There are players here that I think are capable of playing at a higher level. We are very, very hopeful that we’ll get some people in.”
Celtic squad rotation played factor in struggle to see off Auchinleck Talbot
On his side’s sub-standard performance in eventually seeing off their discipline opponents, O’Neill conceded: “We can play much better. Obviously I made a lot of changes to the team but I’m still concerned about the match.
“It was nice to win but we can play much better, though that’s down to me making so many changes. Some players I wanted to see but in the same token still wanting to keep some continuity, which is very difficult given the changes we did make.
“It was a bit of a toil (to get a second goal), and we lacked a spark. Seb (Tounekti) came on and gave us a bit of something, and scored a great goal. I would like that second goal to have been a lot earlier.
“We had lots of possession and even when we did create chances we were a bit wasteful as well.”
What has Auchinleck Talbot boss Tommy Sloan said?
“It was a fantastic effort from the lads,” Sloan admitted. “I’m not surprised they came up with it because they normally do. We had been going well this season up until the last few weeks and they’ve certainly proved today that they’re capable of digging in and putting on a performance.
“We would have liked to have threatened the goal a bit more but the effort’s been fantastic and that is for another day. I was delighted going in 1-0 down at half-time and would have taken that before the game so it was a positive team talk. I tried to say that to them.
“We stayed in the game for long periods, didn’t threaten the goal enough but that was the only disappointing thing for me.”