Celtic

Tyrone Smith
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

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Former Celtic and Stuttgart defender Andreas Hinkel says he will "have two hearts beating in my chest" when his old clubs face off in the Europa League play-off round.

The sides meet in Glasgow on Thursday night for the first leg before next week's tie in Stuttgart.

Hinkel came through the ranks at Stuttgart and went on to make over 150 appearances for the senior side during a six-year spell at the German club.

The right-back joined Sevilla after leaving Germany before making the move to Scotland were he spent three years at Celtic and made 79 appearances for the Glasgow club during which time he won a league title and a League Cup.

"For me it is a really special game," Hinkel told BBC Scotland.

"When I saw the draw I was really happy, I felt happy for both sides.

"For me it is quite difficult, we have a saying in Germany 'I have two hearts beating in my chest', it is difficult for me to choose one team.

"But it is a special game for me, I had a great time at Celtic, I love this club, I love Stuttgart as well because I grew up here."

It won't be the first time Celtic and Stuttgart face off, in fact it will be the same man in the Celtic dugout as when the sides met over 20 years ago.

That was in the last 16 of the Uefa Cup back in 2002-03 when Martin O'Neill was first in charge of Celtic, the Glasgow club won 5-4 on aggregate following a 3-1 win in the home leg and a 3-2 defeat in the away leg.

"I am looking forward to it because so many people around Stuttgart as well they remember the Uefa Cup game," Hinkel added.

"They remember the supporters, they came to Germany but they remember the atmosphere at Celtic Park as well so I think it will be a great game."

Despite being sidelined through injury for the entirety of his final season at Parkhead, the 43-year-old has nothing but fond memories from his time in Glasgow's east end.

"I would have liked not to get injured in my last year but I couldn't influence it," he said.

"It happened during a training session at the beginning of my last season so that would have been the only thing I would have changed.

"I gave everything for the club, I experienced it as a really special club. It is not a normal club and I still feel part of it. It is like a family, if you are once part of this club or you played for this club you are like a family member."

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• Only FC Midtjylland (nine) have scored more goals via set pieces in the UEFA Europa League this season than Celtic (eight) – four of Celtic's last five goals in the competition have been scored via that method (three corners, one penalty).

• This is Stuttgart's first major European knockout round tie since losing 5-1 on aggregate to Lazio at the round of 16 stage of the UEFA Europa League in 2012-13. Overall, the Germans have won just one of their last 11 knockout matches (D3 L7).

• Celtic have won just one of their last 10 home games in the knockout rounds of major European competition (D3 L6), losing each of their last four in succession whilst conceding two-plus goals in each.

• After losing each of their first five away European matches to Scottish opponents between 1964 and 2007, Stuttgart won their last trip to Scotland 2-0 against Rangers in the UEFA Champions League group stage in November 2009.

• Celtic and Stuttgart have faced twice before in major European competition, with the Scottish side winning 5-4 on aggregate in the last 16 of the 2002-03 UEFA Cup under Martin O'Neill (3-1 home, 2-3 away).

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Celtic manager Martin O'Neill will be inducted into the League Managers Association Hall of Fame 1000 Club when he takes charge of Thursday night's game against Stuttgart.

The Europa League play-off will mark O'Neill 1000th professional match as a manager, and his 301st at Celtic.

The 73-year-old joins a group of 40 managers who have also hit the 1000 game milestone including the likes of Carlo Ancelotti, Brian Clough, Jose Mourinho and Arsene Wenger.

"Martin's life in football has been characterised by some phenomenal achievements and by such longevity, as evidenced by reaching this remarkable milestone," Celtic chief executive Michael Nicholson said.

"Almost one third of these matches have been achieved with Celtic and everyone at the club is so grateful for the wonderful contribution Martin has made and continues to make to Celtic.

"He has given us and the wider football world so much over so many years and we send Martin our sincere congratulations on reaching this real landmark achievement."

Kheredine Idessane
BBC Sport Scotland Senior Reporter

The next six games will go a long way to answering the question that some supporters around Parkhead have been pondering these past few weeks: is Martin O'Neill slowly turning Celtic into the real deal?

Or is he simply the master-plasterer, frantically masking an ever-increasing number of cracks while rapidly running out of paper?

We're about to find out.

With the greatest respect to the three teams concerned, last-gasp victories over Dundee, Livingston and Kilmarnock won't cut it if Celtic are serious about making further inroads on the three fronts they're currently fighting.

You can't beat it for drama, certainly, and yet the painful truth which even those viewing things through green and white tinted spectacles can't fail to see clearly, is that Celtic only just scraped by three of the Premiership's bottom four teams.

What faces O'Neill now is Celtic's toughest run of fixtures this season, several of which require the side to go into battle on the road.

The step up in quality Celtic are about to face could scarcely be more pronounced. Having just about taken care of the sides placed 9th, 12th and 11th in the Premiership, the Scottish champions now face the fourth best team in the German Bundesliga. Stuttgart have won five of their last six matches in all competitions and arrive in Scotland with a spring in their step.

Celtic then host a Hibs side with eyes on a top four finish and who left Glasgow with a point the last time they travelled to Parkhead. It's the games that follow the visit of David Gray's side, however, which will really test Celtic's mettle. A daunting-looking run of four away games which will make or break the hoops' season.

The significance of the return match with Stuttgart will be determined by the outcome of the home leg. Should Celtic still be in the tie when they head to Germany, the prospect of reaching the Europa League last 16 will tempt O'Neill to go full throttle. His problem, however, is that as soon as they come back from Baden-Wurttemberg, it's straight to Ibrox three days later. For a massive showdown at the top of the Premiership against the league's form team. In the context of an ever-tightening title race, derbies don't come any bigger.

Unless, of course, they're for a place in the semi-finals of the Scottish Cup. That's the prospect facing Celtic the following week with a trip to Pittodrie sandwiched in the middle. Quite the run of fixtures, isn't it? Six games in 17 days across three competitions. All of them huge.

Do those numbers add up to something Celtic simply aren't equipped to cope with given the limitations of the current squad? Probably.

While their resilience and determination to play to the final whistle should be applauded, the levels of performance reached in their last three nail-biters simply won't do from hereon in.

Martin O'Neill will need to coax some quality football from his players to match their undoubted grit if he's to add a final, glorious chapter to an already stellar Celtic storybook.

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Celtic defender Liam Scales is embracing the club's hectic fixture schedule as they compete across three competitions (Daily Record), external.

Scales could tell from his first training session that Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was an elite signing for Celtic (Herald)., external

Tino
Fan writer

Celtic's man of the moment right now is undoubtedly Julian Araujo, following that dramatic, last-gasp winner against Kilmarnock on Sunday.

But it wasn't just the goal that won supporters over - it was the celebration.

The sheer passion. The raw enthusiasm. The sight of a player utterly consumed by the moment and clearly loving life in the Hoops.

And no one captured it better than Araujo himself in the immediate aftermath.

"It's a moment that I'll never forget for the rest of my life…"

Think about that for a second.

This is a player who, at just 21, signed for La Liga giants Barcelona.

A full international with 16 caps for Mexico.

A defender who secured a €10 million move to Bournemouth in the Premier League only 18 months ago.

Yet here he is, calling a late winner for Celtic one of the defining moments of his career.

Despite the negativity that's surrounded parts of this season, Celtic can still provide footballers with those unforgettable experiences - the kind that stay with them forever.

Of course, many of our most talented players will move on in due course. That's the model. That's modern football. Whether it's the Premier League, La Liga, or elsewhere in Europe, talent travels - and Araujo himself may yet return to Bournemouth (though let's see how that goes at the end of his loan spell).

But let's not downplay Celtic's pull.

This is still a club that offers the chance to win silverware every season. A club that, when functioning properly, delivers Champions League football - the dream stage for elite players. And above all, a club that offers unrivalled love and adoration from a global fanbase.

The bond between Araujo and the travelling fans at Rugby Park was first-hand proof of that. Just pure connection between a player and the fans.

But I say all this at a time when it feels like Celtic are at something of a crossroads in our modern history.

And a time where there's a very real danger of the club losing that connection with the fans if they're not careful in terms of their next move.

There's a genuine risk of the club drifting from its supporters if the next steps aren't handled carefully - and that connection can be the difference between winning and losing.

With just 12 games left in this title race, a fully united support could be decisive.

It might be what drives Martin O'Neill's side to one of the sweetest championships in years - or a reason for ending the season with nothing.

And I say all of this fully aware that it's not just as simple as flicking a switch, returning the Green Brigade to Celtic Park, and then all getting on with it.

Conditions must be met on all sides. Concessions will have to be made. But there is always a way.

Now it's on the club to lead, to find that way - and to enable more moments like Araujo's on Sunday between now and what is hopefully, a title-lifting month of May.

Tino can be found at The Celtic Exchange, external

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Julian Araujo is not ruling out making a permanent move to Celtic in the summer after his first goal for the club sealed Sunday's dramatic 3-2 win at Kilmarnock. (The Herald - subscription required), external

Luis Palma has told Celtic he wants to leave permanently to stay on at loan club Lech Poznan but the Honduras winger, who still has two-and-a-half years to run on his contract in Glasgow, admits it's out of his hands. (Daily Record), external

Paul McGinn is backing Motherwell defensive partner Stephen Welsh, on loan from Celtic, to play his way into Scotland's World Cup squad. (Scottish Sun), external

Six winning goals in the 90th minute or more for Celtic this season.

"They're not playing well, but they're not dropping points," pundit Michael Stewart said. "You'd think there'll come a point when the momentum [built] comes to the game, and you win games a little bit easier.

"If you're not playing well and scoring last minute goals, it helps to build the belief," he added.

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Interim manager Martin O'Neill joked that Celtic's past two victories, in which they scored winners in injury time, are "not great" for his health as he praised his players for digging out a vital three points.

At one stage, his side were 2-0 down to a struggling Kilmarnock side but came back to win it thanks to Julian Araujo's late winner.

"You can throw all the usual accolades around, but the players deserve them today because even at half-time, when we were so poor, there was still that feeling that we could turn it around if we could get a relatively early goal in the second half, and that's what happened," O'Neill said after the match.

"Obviously, it's unbelievably satisfying to win, and to win in the manner in which we did at the end was terrific.

"If that's the way you have to win the games, though, if you have to win them like that, you just can't keep doing that."

It's the second time in the space of a week that Celtic have struck late, after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain scored on his debut in the 91st minute to find victory over bottom side Livingston.

"It's both worrying me and, well, it's not great for my health. It's really draining, honestly," the 73-year-old said.

"Some of these lads, my coaching staff, I look around, they're much, much younger than me and I think they can take the strain, but not for me."

The interim boss also confirmed that Arne Engels is set to miss about six weeks with an injury.

The young Belgian midfielder was courted intensely by Nottingham Forest on the final day of the transfer window but Celtic rejected three bids for him.

"It's his thigh and it's a big loss for us, absolutely," O'Neill said.

Two Celtic stars, duos from Dundee and Dundee United, and a pair from Motherwell. It's time for Jonathan Sutherland's team of the week, so let's take a look and see who impressed...

Raphael Sallinger - Hibernian

Not a vintage weekend for goalkeepers. Sallinger gets the nod for a couple of stops and a clean sheet. An overall impressive addition at Easter Road.

Julian Araujo - Celtic

What a big goal. Ended up in hospitality with his celebration, but it was a big moment.

Stephen Welsh - Motherwell

Outstanding again after his goalscoring heroics midweek. An assist for Just as well. Not sure what Celtic don't see in him.

Ross Graham - Dundee United

Goal and a doughty warrior at the back. His four touches in the opposition box was only bettered by teammate Kristijan Trapanovski, while he made more clearances than any other player.

Cameron Congreve - Dundee

A continuous threat down the right for the Dark Blues. What a good loan signing he has been by Steven Pressley. Took eight shots and created three chances.

Craig Sibbald - Dundee United

Pulled the strings in midfield and scored a vital goal. Set up four chances, the most of any United player, and won more duels than any of his teammates.

Elijah Just - Motherwell

For me, Elijah Just has to be in with a shout of player of the season. The New Zealand international has been consistently excellent, showing guile, creativity and goalscoring ability. On the scoresheet again this weekend, against Aberdeen. Ghosts around the pitch with elegance, class and endeavour.

Sebastian Tounekti - Celtic

Loves Rugby Park. Great on his debut there, scored there against Auchinleck Talbot and sparked Celtic's comeback on Sunday with a goal of the season contender.

Simon Murray - Dundee

Murray in a hurry at Dens Park. After a barren spell, the Dundee captain looked pumped for action with his quick fire double.

Youssef Chermiti - Rangers

Michael Stewart told me on Sportscene he doesn't think Chermiti has the potential to be a top striker. But he has scored six of his seven goals this season against Celtic and Hearts, including his hat-trick yesterday on what was a huge occasion.

The challenge for the 21-year-old is to start delivering this sort of performance more consistently against the other sides in the Premiership.

Tyreece John-Jules - Kilmarnock

The former Arsenal youth - and nephew of Red Dwarf star Danny John-Jules - was a force of nature for Kilmarnock against Celtic, following on from his midweek hat-trick.

Scored a great goal, clipped the crossbar from a free-kick and just generally showed star potential. Such a shame he limped off with what looked like a thigh muscle strain.

We asked you Celtic fans for you opinions after the late win over Kilmarnock at Rugby Park. Here's a taste of what you had to say...

Chic: Fantastic second-half fightback after a dreadful first-half. The players need to believe that they can win every game until the end of season. Talent is there but every player must give 100%, and some didn't in first half. The league is there for the taking.

Daniel: First-half was woeful. Junior Adamu is way off it, I would much rather Kelechi Iheanacho. Second-half was miles better. The drive Sebastian Tounekti gives us is a must as Yang Hyun-jun and Diazen Maeda had none. Needs far more tempo, especially at the back.

Jim: Yet again we get a late winner, but the performance was abysmal from Reo Hatate and Kasper Schmeichel. They've not had a decent game since Martin O'Neill left the first time, and should be dropped. Not hopeful about the Rangers game but would settle for draw.

John: We can't keep getting away with these poor performances. So hard to watch. I think a few players need to be dropped. Hatate, Meada and Auston Trusty. Give the new recruits a chance to prove themselves.

Henry: Fantastic result at a tricky venue, we have a game in hand and are only three points behind the league leaders. Celtic can still win this league. All the supporters need to get behind the team and stop all this 'sack the board' nonsense.

Clem: Another below average performance. Central defence and defence midfield are suspect. Maeda and Hatate are shadows of the players they were and if the don't want to graft, then remove them from the starting line up.

Kudos to the rest of the players for never giving up. Play with that intensity from the start. Still believe.

Imran: Love the passion from Julian Araujo and what an ending! Other players need to be dropped now such as Hatate and Maeda as we looked much better in the second half. Tounekti should start and give Luke McCowan a chance. We need to control games more.

James: Another late, late show. Our central defence and goalie were extremely poor. Historically we have never really played well on, what is possibly, the worst pitch in the country but our defending was dreadful. Please don't allow the results to disguise the poor performances. However, three points gladly received.

Celtic recover from a two-goal deficit to secure a late Scottish Premiership win at Kilmarnock (UK users only).

Celtic came from two goals down to record a third late victory within seven days as they beat Kilmarnock 3-2 at Rugby Park.

Interim manager Martin O'Neill compared to the spirit to the team he led to glory in his first spell with Celtic 20 years ago and we want your thoughts.

Read the match report.

Have your say

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Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has compared his side's spirit to the title-winning team of his first spell in charge of the Glasgow side.

"The spirit the players has been absolutely fantastic," he said of their win in Kilmarnock after being 2-0 down.

"I managed, coached, a really top quality side here 20-odd years ago who had loads of spirit, loads of resilience, loads of ability.

"And these lads here are emulating that in many aspects and sometimes surpassing.

"It was a wonderful second-half performance for us.

"I thought we were very poor in the first half. As a team defending, we weren't that good then we keep giving the ball away at times, but the second half was totally different.

"We made the changes at half time and then Seb scores a wonder goal for us and puts us right back in the game, culminating in us winning the match.

"Kilmarnock adapted to the conditions, the rain, the pitch, much better than we did and sometimes you just have to dig in - and that's exactly what we did.

"You can't keep doing that. We've got to put in the full 90 minutes."

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Portuguese forward Tiago Tomas had to be comforted by his teammates when he broke down in tears after his Stuttgart side warmed up for Thursday's Europa League visit to Celtic with a 3-1 win over Koln.

Tomas, who rejoined Stuttgart from Wolfsburg last summer, had come on as an 84th-minute substitute on Saturday for his first appearance since December, with reports in Germany later claiming the 23-year-old's father died in January.

Asked if he could explain the background, head coach Sebastian Hoeness said: "No, I don't want to - that's something personal.

"But it very public. It wasn't an injury or anything. It was something family related and that's probably why, after such a long time, when he's back on the pitch, the emotions came up. The guys tried to comfort him and give him strength."

Earlier, a double from fellow forward Ermedin Demirovic helped Stuttgart return to winning ways after last week's 2-1 defeat away to second bottom St Pauli.

The victory, Stuttgart's fifth in six games, lifts Hoeness' side up to fourth in the Bundesliga, although RB Leipzig will regain that spot should they beat visitors Wolfsburg on Sunday.

Asked how it set them up for their knockout phase play-off first leg at Celtic Park, centre-back Jeff Chabot said: "We expect a great game and excellent atmosphere."

Demirovic opened the scoring against 11th-placed visitors Koln after 15 minutes, slotting home from 10 yards after fellow forward Jamie Leweling headed into his path.

Koln struck back with 11 minutes remaining when Luca Waldschmidt pounced on a slack pass out of the home defence and set up strike partner Ragnar Ache for a clever chip over goalkeeper Alexander Nubel.

Demirovic restored the lead five minutes later as he volleyed home at the near post from centre-back Ramon Hendriks' superb curling cross.

The three points were wrapped up in stoppage time, Germany forward Deniz Undav volleying in from 12 yards from midfielder Angelo Stiller's pass.

Stuttgart have made a habit of goals in the final quarter of matches this season, something Hoeness put down to "believing in themselves until the end".

Demirovic has now scored 10 goals in 20 appearances this season, four in his latest five, but asked about his fine strike rate, the 27-year-old Bosnia and Herzegovina international provided a simple explanation. "I'm the striker - I score the goals," he said.

Celtic and Rangers are both eyeing respective summer moves for highly-rated 22-year-old Dundee centre-half Luke Graham. (Football Insider), external

Kilmarnock midfielder David Watson, the 21-year-old who has been linked with Aberdeen, Bolton Wanderers and Celtic and is out of contract this summer, says he is leaving his future to his agent and concentrating on his football. (The Herald), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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Celtic captain Callum McGregor believes Martin O'Neill's understanding of the club allows the interim manager to sprinkle some magic "dust" on the team.

The 73-year-old Northern Irishman has won 14 out of 17 matches over his two spells in charge this season and suffered only one defeat, while the two draws came after Celtic received red cards while leading.

"He's brilliant, he's very honest and he's very down the line," midfielder McGregor told Celtic TV.

"He tells you when it's good, he tells you when he wants more, but he's got an amazing feel for Celtic.

"When you understand Celtic and you understand what it's about, it gives you that feel to say the right thing at the right time - and he's had an amazing impact on the players."

McGregor points out that assistant Shaun Maloney and coaches Mark Fotheringham, Gavin Strachan and Stephen McManus have taking a lot of the training.

"But the manager just comes in and sprinkles that dust on top and he's an amazing man-manager and he is getting the best out of the group, individually and collectively," he said.

"So he's been amazing over the two spells so far and you can see that the boys are fighting for him."

"He's a brilliant man and he tells you exactly what you want to hear."

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Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann reflected on Martin O'Neill's ability to get his teams over the line as he prepares to renew rivalries with the Celtic boss.

McCann was a Rangers player during the first three years of O'Neill's initial spell in charge at Celtic Park, and will come up against the Northern Irishman again when the Premiership champions visit Rugby Park on Sunday, this time in the opposition dugout.

O'Neill's arrival in 2000 was the catalyst for Celtic becoming Scotland's dominant team, although McCann helped Rangers win the treble in 2003, when the Hoops reached the Uefa Cup final.

The 73-year-old appears to have retained his ability to instil a winning mentality in his team either side of Wilfried Nancy's brief and chaotic reign.

Celtic have only lost once in 17 games under O'Neill this season and have won 14 of those matches. They were down to 10 men in their two draws.

Stoppage-time goals have helped them get over the line in their past two matches against Dundee and Livingston, and McCann recognises the traits of O'Neill's leadership.

"Martin's shown again, and then again, how good a manager he is," McCann said.

"I've played against him when he was a manager at Celtic when I was playing at Rangers, understood what he demanded from his teams, how his teams went about things.

"I think he's just got that something that gets the team going.

"Whether they're playing sparkling Celtic football, as everybody tends to put the label on them, or not, they're finding a way of winning games, so we have to completely respect the challenge."

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Kilmarnock left-back Dom Thompson is back from suspension for Celtic's visit on Sunday.

Kyle Magennis, Djenairo Daniels and Matty Kennedy remain out through injury.

Celtic are set to be without Arne Engels after the midfielder went off with an upper leg injury against Livingston.

Cameron Carter-Vickers, Jota, Alistair Johnston and Callum Osmand remain out.

Celtic have no plans to make Benfica's Jose Mourinho their next permanent manager as they seek a long-term replacement for interim manager Martin O'Neill. (Football Insider), external

Celtic interim manager Martin O'Neill has sought to temper expectations regarding a permanent deal for on-loan 24-year-old Bournemouth right-back Julian Araujo. (Football Transfers), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full.

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