Martin O’Neill admitted his much-changed side gave him some selection dilemmas for the trip to Ibrox after they exited the Europa League on a high by beating Stuttgart.
Needing a miracle to overturn a 4-1 deficit from the first leg, Celtic recorded their first win on German soil in 17 attempts thanks to Luke McCowan’s goal on 29 seconds.
On a night when O’Neill retained only three players from the side who lost to Hibs last Sunday, the midfielder produced his best display in a Celtic jersey.
Viljami Sinisalo also delivered a flawless performance as he chalked up a clean sheet after replacing Kasper Schmeichel and, with stellar displays from Dane Murray and Junior Adamu, a number of fringe players staked their claim to face Rangers on Sunday.
Asked if it’s given him a welcome headache for this weekend, O’Neill replied: ‘Yeah, I don’t think it would be a headache. Maybe a selection choice.
‘Tonight, I thought it was terrific. We scored early on and, in the game, we had some defending to do. Of course, you’d expect that here.
Luke McCowan celebrates his early goal which gave Celtic a 1-0 win against Stuttgart
‘I want them to step up to the plate really at the end of it all.
‘We didn’t throw in two 16-year-olds or anything like that into the side. These boys have played in the team, and they’ve known what it is to actually win. They’ve actually won some matches during our time here.’
Finland international Sinisalo didn’t put a glove wrong as he shut out a free-scoring Stuttgart side.
‘I thought he played brilliantly in the game,’ added O’Neill. ‘Vil, I think that’s the name that we know him around the dressing room, he did really well.
‘He’s a young lad who’s got plenty of talent and that was nice. And today, we made some changes in the side, some enforced.
‘What’s Stuttgart’s capacity at, 50,000 or 60,000? Which is terrific. I just had a conversation there with Luke (McCowan), Ross (Doohan) and Sinisalo himself, who all played at Ayr at some stage or another in their careers. So, this was great tonight. Listen, I’ve been to Somerset Park as well, too, so I know what it’s about.
‘The point I’m trying to make is that the players have to rise to the occasion. And what an occasion to try and rise to. And they need to keep rising to the occasion.
Martin O’Neill congratulates skipper McGregor after club’s first win on German soil
‘There’s some massive games for us coming up.’
O’Neill bristled at suggestions that such an impressive victory only underscored how inconsistent the side have been throughout this season.
‘You are saying about a real Celtic,’ he told TNT Sports. ‘We’ve turned up quite a number of times in recent times.
‘For instance, if you just go back to Sunday (Hibs) we had the majority of the game.
‘If we hadn’t had a man sent off, we might have created a couple more chances maybe to have won the game.
‘I thought we played really well in the match overall. In the first game against Stuttgart, we let it run away from us and we gave away some soft goals.
‘But tonight, I think it was a brilliant backs-to-the-wall performance, but we still had chances in the game.
‘And you never know, had Seb (Tounekti) scored that one towards the end of the game, it might have been a nervy few minutes for what I consider a very, very good team, a team capable of winning this competition.’
Keeper Viljami Sinisalo has put his hand up for selection in Rangers game after a flawless performance
McCowan scores the winning goal, albeit Celtic still went out 4-2 on aggregate
Meanwhile, former Celtic director Lord Haughey has announced his intention to buy up to £10million worth of shares in the club to gift to fans.
Haughey announced on his Go Radio station an idea for a season ticket holders’ alliance that he believes would carry influence for supporters and restore harmony at the club.
The former Livingston co-owner, who spent three years on the Celtic board in the mid-1990s, said he was finalising plans that would see him pledge £2million for every 10,000 season ticket holders who sign up for free.
Haughey’s funding arrangement with Queen’s Park is set to end this summer.
