Celtic face Austrian side LASK in the UEFA Champions League Playoff first leg on Wednesday night.The Scottish Champions will be looking to gain the advantage in the home leg before travelling to Linz next week with a place in the prestigious tournament at stake.
Going into the game, Celtic have sold Arne Engels but it appears that Martin O’Neill will not be able to call upon a new signing to replace the power and dynamism of the departed Belgian star. After speaking about Engels and transfer business at the pre-match press conference, O’Neill spoke about sidelined star Reo Hatate, offering an insight into the 28-year-old’s situation at Paradise.
When asked whether he thought Hatate would leave, O’Neill confirmed that he did not know before appearing to offer an olive branch to the Japanese star.
“What I would love Reo to do is get back to the form he showed a couple of years ago when he was one of the best players in Scotland.
“It’s been a bit of a struggle for him.
“He’s not a regular member of the team at the moment but things can change.
“But I don’t know about him leaving as such.
“There’s been enquiries for him but nothing definitive. We’ll see. If Reo wants to stay and battle for his place in the team, I have no problem with that.”
O’Neill, who is a graduate of the Brian Clough school of management, could be considering using Hatate in the midfield against the Austrians. Celtic are without Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain through suspension with Paulo Bernado and Engels having departed. Perhaps he is talking Hatate getting back to the level that saw him dominate the centre of the park across Scotland as a means to motivate him into getting back to form.
There had been rumours that Hatate was holding out for a top five league and it might even act as a motivator to the player if he is called upon. Essentially, he can put himself in the shop window if he can impress and help the team towards achieving their aim of qualifying for the UCL proper.