Scottish Premiership talent remains firmly on Celtic’s recruitment radar – Martin O’Neill

The Celtic boss – accompanied by assistant Mark Fotheringham – was among the spectators in North Lanarkshire at the weekend as Motherwell booked their place in the Scottish Cup with a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Ross County.

The hosts were once again inspired by in-form forward Tawanda Maswanhise, who struck the winner to continue his impressive scoring run this season.

The 23-year-old has emerged as one of the Premiership’s most consistent attacking threats and matches the type of profile Celtic are believed to be targeting as O’Neill looks to add firepower to his squad.

Despite the growing speculation, O’Neill declined to comment on whether the Zimbabwe international is a transfer target.

When questioned about his presence at the match, O’Neill said: “That was a football mission, that’s part of my job to look at the games if I can get an opportunity. We did it after training with Fotheringham and it was nice. I enjoyed the game – you, lads honestly! You are testing me to the utmost.”

After being drawn against Dundee in the fifth round of the Scottish Cup following last night’s win, Celtic are now shifting their focus firmly onto continental duties.

The Hoops currently sit precariously near the cut-off line in the Europa League standings, having accumulated only seven points and occupying the final qualification position for the play-off phase.

With their Europa League playoff hopes hanging in the balance, O’Neill’s side face a decisive double-header, beginning with a demanding trip to Italy to take on Bologna before returning to Glasgow the following week to host FC Utrecht.

Adding further pressure to an already packed schedule is a pivotal Premiership showdown away to Hearts at Tynecastle, a fixture that could have major implications in the title race.

Conor Spence