‘I have been staying after training to work on things’ - Celtic star Sead Haksabanovic reveals secret behind late Dundee United win

Sead Haksabanovic admits he retained full belief his Celtic team-mates would be able to summon enough energy to stage a last-gasp victory over Dundee United - despite the visitors equalising in the 87th minute at Parkhead on Saturday.

The Hoops moved seven points clear at the Scottish Premiership summit courtesy of stoppage time goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and Liel Abada to crush the Tangerines remarkable comeback.

In a thrilling encounter, Dylan Levitt had appeared to rescue a point for United after Haksabanovic netted a first-half brace either side of Steven Fletcher’s VAR-assisted penalty. However, Ange Postecoglou’s inspired substitutions came up trumps to spark bedlam inside a packed Celtic Park.

Kyogo’s glancing header and Abada’s audacious lob over visiting keeper Mark Birighitti sealed an important victory and Haksabanovic who had to watch the drama unfold from the bench after being replaced midway through the second half was confident they would claim maximum points.

He said: “The end of the game was amazing. Did I think the win had gone? No, I think we all believe here that we can score these late goals. We have done that before so we never stop believing. Sitting on the bench I was a bit nervous when they came back to make it 2-2.

“Of course it is frustrating because when you have scored you hope that has helped the team win. But then once we got the goal from Kyogo I was so calm and then Liel scored another. Once again we showed what we are capable of.”

The Montenegro international, who joined the Hoops from Russian Premier League outfit Rubin Kazan in August, revealed he had been frustrated at the length of time it had take hiim to get off the mark for his new club.

He stated: “It’s always good to score goals. Those were my first and second for Celtic but hopefully I can get more because I’m not happy. When you come to a new team it’s always good to get your first goal and assists. But mainly it’s about going out and trying to help the team get the win.

“I wouldn’t say I had become frustrated. I had been staying after training working on things that I knew would help me out. I just needed to be patient and hope that when my chances came I would score.”