O’Neill must drop Yang to unleash Celtic star he’s given 54 mins to so far
da blaze casino： Celtic’s interim head coach Martin O’Neill has confirmed that Wednesday night’s clash with Dundee at Parkhead will be his final match in the dugout for the Scottish giants.
da bet vitoria： The experienced manager stepped in after Brendan Rodgers resigned at the end of October and has won six of his seven matches in all competitions, per Transfermarkt, to date.
Columbus Crew boss Wilfried Nancy will then take over as the permanent successor to Brendan Rodgers and will face a baptism of fire at the weekend against league leaders Hearts in the Scottish Premiership.
The French boss will be watching on from afar for the clash this evening and will have one last chance to assess the players who will soon be at his disposal before being tasked with organising them in training.
O’Neill will also be keen for his last game to be a memorable one, leaving Nancy with the team in the best possible position, by claiming all three points against Dundee.
The experienced boss may look to make some changes to his starting line-up from the side that beat Hibernian 2-1 at Easter Road on Sunday in order to secure the win this evening.
The Celtic players who could be dropped against Dundee
Football FanCast have already suggested that right-sided winger Luke McCowan should be dropped from the team after he failed to impress against Hibs at the weekend, with no shots on target or ‘big chances’ created, per Sofascore.
The former Dundee man has been tasked with filling in out wide in recent games, due to the lack of natural options in that position, but he was ineffective last time out, which could provide Benjamin Nygren with a chance to play in that role.
On the other side of the pitch, Marcelo Saracchi could make way for Kieran Tierney at left-back, as the two defenders have shared the workload so far this season in the Premiership.
25/26 Premiership
Saracchi
Tierney
Appearances
7
10
Starts
6
6
Minutes
405
609
Big chances created
2
2
Assists
1
2
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the statistics above, they have both started six league games this term, and it could be Tierney’s time to start this evening after coming off the bench against Hibs.
Another player who could be dropped from the starting line-up, alongside Saracchi and McCowan, is left-sided attacker Hyun-jun Yang, who played a part in Arne Engels’ goal with a deflected cross for the Belgian on Sunday.
Aside from that deflected cross, the South Korean forward offered little to the side in or out of possession on the left flank. Per Sofascore, he played 86 minutes without registering a key pass, a ‘big chance’ created, or a shot on target, as his part in Engels’ goal did not count as an assist.
The 23-year-old star, who scored against Feyenoord last week in the Europa League, also lost 75% (3/4) of his duels throughout the game, per Sofascore, which shows that he was not strong enough in his physical battles.
With this in mind, and the fact that they have Hearts to play on Sunday, O’Neill should ruthlessly ditch Yang from the starting line-up to provide another player with an opportunity to impress.
Chalkboard
Football FanCast’s Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.
Dropping the South Korea international could allow the experienced boss to finally unleash rarely-seen winger Michel-Ange Balikwisha on the left flank against Dundee tonight.
Why Celtic should unleash Michel-Ange Balikwisha
The Belgian forward played 59 minutes across three substitute appearances in O’Neill’s first three games in charge, but has been an unused substitute for the last four matches in all competitions.
We are not privy to what goes on behind the scenes, in training and in tactical meetings, and the experienced boss will have his reasons for not giving Balikwisha much game time in recent weeks.
However, in a three-game week, this clash with Dundee ahead of the meeting with Hearts on Sunday provides the manager with a chance to give the summer signing from Royal Antwerp a start for the first time.
In fact, Balikwisha has not started a game for Celtic since the 2-1 win over Kilmarnock away from home in September under Rodgers, per Sofascore, which means that the winger has not had many opportunities to showcase his quality.
Balikwisha in 25/26 Premiership
Opposition
Minutes
Hibernian
0
St Mirren
0
Kilmarnock
0
Falkirk
29
Hearts
30
Dundee
26
Motherwell
12
Hibernian
16
Kilmarnock
58
Rangers
65
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, the Celtic winger started his first two games in the Premiership against Rangers and Kilmarnock, after signing from Royal Antwerp, but has not gotten a look-in since then.
There is more to come from Balikwisha in a Celtic shirt because his form for Royal Antwerp in Belgium suggests that he does have the potential to carry a threat at the top end of the pitch.
Per Transfermarkt, the 24-year-old wing wizard scored 30 goals and provided 17 assists in 145 matches for Antwerp, yet he has only managed two assists and no goals in 12 outings in all competitions for the Hoops.
The only way he will improve and adapt to Scottish football, though, is by playing matches and getting used to the intensity and physicality of the division, which he cannot do from the bench.
That is why O’Neill should give Balikwisha a rare opportunity to start against Dundee as a parting gift to Nancy, as it would provide the winger with another opportunity to develop as a Celtic player ahead of a fresh page under the next manager.
Therefore, the interim manager should ruthlessly drop and rest Yang from the starting line-up this evening, bringing the rarely-seen Belgian in to give him a chance to stake a claim for a place in the side moving forward.
Nancy could bin Celtic star who's been the biggest winner of O'Neill's reign
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1 ByDan Emery Dec 2, 2025