Martin O’Neill praises Haitham Hassan’s impact after Celtic’s draw with Dundee United

Celtic manager Martin O’Neill has praised Egyptian winger Haitham Hassan for his influential second-half performance in the club’s 2-2 draw against Dundee United in the Scottish Premiership.

Despite starting the encounter on the bench, Hassan made an immediate impact after being introduced at the beginning of the second half, causing problems for the opposition defence with his attacking runs and deliveries from the right flank.

The Egyptian international brought additional attacking energy to Celtic’s play, creating opportunities and stretching Dundee United’s defensive structure as the Scottish giants searched for a winning goal.

Speaking after the encounter, O’Neill admitted that his team still had areas to improve, particularly in possession and their ability to produce the decisive pass in the final third.

“We can improve on some aspects of our performance tonight. We felt we lost possession in certain situations, and we also struggled with the final decisive pass,” the Celtic manager said.

However, the experienced tactician was particularly impressed with Hassan’s contribution after coming off the bench, highlighting the problems he created for Dundee United during the second half.

“He caused chaos in the opponent’s defence in the second half. He sent crosses in the second half that we should have taken advantage of, one or two of them,” O’Neill added.

The Celtic boss also addressed whether the winger could earn more opportunities in the starting lineup in upcoming matches, explaining that although he has previously started games, he is still adapting to Scottish football.

O’Neill acknowledged that Hassan made a strong contribution against Dundee United but stressed that the Egyptian needs more time to become fully accustomed to the team’s playing style.

The manager’s comments represent an encouraging assessment of the winger’s progress since arriving at Celtic, with his ability to influence matches from the bench offering another attacking option for the Scottish side.

Hassan will now hope to build on his impressive cameo and convince O’Neill that he deserves a regular starting role as Celtic continue their campaign.