Martin O’Neill Explains Haissem Hassan's Omission in Celtic's Defeat

Martin O’Neill says a sleepless night, not tactics, lay behind his decision to leave Haissem Hassan out of Celtic’s starting XI in the 3-0 defeat to Rangers at Ibrox.

The winger’s absence raised eyebrows before the Premier Sports Cup quarter-final. Hassan had been one of Celtic’s brighter sparks in midweek, tormenting St Johnstone and supplying the cross for Mika Baur’s winner in a tight 1-0 victory. He even had a goal of his own chalked off in controversial fashion, a moment that underlined how sharp he looked.

So when the teams were announced at Ibrox and Sebastian Tounekti got the nod instead, the omission felt significant.

After the game, O’Neill moved to clarify the call.

“Young Hassan had an overnight problem, and he didn’t get much sleep in all honesty, so it was just a matter of not starting him because of that. That’s the reason, really,” he explained, speaking via Scottish Sun.

The decision meant Celtic went into one of the most demanding fixtures on their calendar without the player who had arguably been their most inventive wide option days earlier. In a tie where Rangers seized control and ran out convincing 3-0 winners, every selection choice came under the microscope.

O’Neill had been quizzed about Hassan’s absence even before a ball was kicked, and at that point he hinted at the demands of the derby as part of his thinking.

“Yeah, I think that he will be on the field of play without doubt,” he said when asked about the winger’s role.

“I think sometimes maybe just have a little look at the fixture itself, you know, the intensity of all of those particular things.”

The message was clear: this was not a loss of faith in Hassan, but a judgement call on a young player heading into a ferocious Ibrox cauldron after a disrupted night.

Instead, Tounekti was trusted from the start, asked to handle both the tactical instructions and the emotional weight of the occasion. The gamble did not pay off on the scoreboard, and the nature of the defeat ensures O’Neill’s choices will be dissected in the days ahead.

Hassan, though, remains very much in the picture. A sleepless night kept him out of the starting line-up at Ibrox. The real question now is how quickly he can turn that frustration into a response when his next chance comes.