Martin O’Neill suffers major setback in training ahead of Europe league clash as the key player will be out for number of games

Celtic striker on Martin O’Neill jibes and his Euro call-up chances

Celtic striker Callum Osmand rose to the challenge and then some when he was thrown on in the second half of the Premier Sports Cup semi-final against Rangers at Hampden on Sunday.

He latched on to a Kieran Tierney through ball in extra-time and scored his side’s final goal to seal an epic 3-1 win which was celebrated wildly by their supporters.

The teenager has no doubt that he will be able to cope with the step up if the Scottish champions succeed in their bid to add him to their Europa League squad for the league phase match against Midtjylland in Denmark on Thursday night despite his complete lack of experience at that rarefied level.

The Glasgow club have attempted to take advantage of Rule 31.14 on UEFA player lists – which allows teams in their club competitions to de-register players who have suffered long-term injuries – and draft the forward in due to Cameron Carter-Vickers being ruled out until next year.

Osmand, the summer signing who only made his debut in senior football last week when he came off the bench in the William Hill Premiership match against Falkirk at Parkhead, is on a huge high at the moment and would dearly love to be involved in the MCH Arena against the top placed side in the competition.

“It’s been a great week for me,” he said last night as he helped his team mates Johnny Kenny and Sebastian Tounekti to open the new Celtic flagship store in Queen Street in Glasgow. “I’m just really happy. Yes, it was tough when I wasn’t involved. But I was just working the same every single day and I kept myself fit. Hopefully I will get many more chances to keep performing.

“Whatever happens (with Celtic’s attempt to call Osmand into their European squad) I’m ready to play. So if that can happen, it’ll be a good thing for me. I’m always ready to perform.

“Playing regularly is obviously the goal. That’s what I want to do. I’ve just got to keep my head down, keep playing and hopefully more chances come. I’ve just got to stay fit and be ready to take it.

“When I joined in the summer my targets were to be playing and to get myself in the squad. I was not really thinking too much about starting because I was playing academy football at Fulham.

“I wasn’t thinking, ‘I’m coming in and I want to play every game’. But I certainly wanted to be around it and I’m glad the way it’s going. I’ve just got to keep pushing and keep rising.

“I’ve been going to the home European games, but obviously getting out to the away ones has not been possible. It would be incredible to be involved in one and if I do get that chance I will be ready.”

Osmand, the former Welsh youth internationalist from Jersey, has certainly grasped his chance since being plucked from obscurity by Martin O’Neill, who took over at Celtic on a temporary basis following the sudden resignation of Brendan Rodgers last week, and given his chance in the first team.

The 19-year-old is grateful to the 73-year-old for handing him his longed-for opportunity. “Obviously everyone was a bit shocked by it (Rodgers leaving),” he said. “It was a bit of a weird situation. I didn’t really know how to think of it because it’s never happened to me in my career or anything like that. It’s just new to me, but it’s just football isn’t it?

“The first few conversations I had with him [O’Neill] were all positive. He just gave me that reassurance. He’s told me that he had heard good things about me, that he knows I’m a good player. That’s all the stuff that you need to hear as a player really. It’s just trust really. He says that he believes in me and he’s going to keep pushing me. That’s good.”

O’Neill was quite withering about Osmand when he spoke to reporters after the semi-final. He stated that the Celtic kid had to learn how to become a striker and would benefit from watching some DVDs of his illustrious predecessor Henrik Larsson in action. But the youngster has taken the legendary Irishman’s comments in the spirit in which they were intended.

“Martin’s been amazing with me,” he said. “There’s not a bad word I can say about Martin. There’s always stuff that I can do better in games, there’s always stuff to learn and work on.

“It feels surreal. I’m just so happy with how it’s all playing out. But, like I said, as quickly as it can turn good, it can turn the other way as well. I’ve just got to keep my head down.”

Osmand, who joined Celtic on a free transfer from Fulham in July, certainly did that during the opening weeks of the 2025/26 campaign despite not being involved in Rodgers’ squads on match day. So there is little chance of him getting carried away with his sudden rise to prominence.

“It was tough because I didn’t feel like I was in the squad,” he said. “The boys were all great, but it felt like wasn’t really a Celtic player as such. It felt like I wasn’t contributing. I just wanted to be helping the team.

“In those moments you’ve got to face your friends when they say, ‘What’s going on? What’s happening?’ You get those messages from your friends and your family saying, ‘When are we coming to watch you again?’ I reply, ‘Oh, I’m not playing yet’.