Celtic manager Martin O'Neill faces a selection call in goal ahead of Sunday's Premier Sports Cup showdown with Rangers, with on-loan goalkeeper Sam Johnstone in pole position to keep his place after a promising start to life at Parkhead. Johnstone kept a clean sheet on his Celtic debut in a midweek trip to McDiarmid Park against St Johnstone, a performance that has strengthened his case to start in the Old Firm derby, according to O'Neill.
That victory in Perth was not without controversy. Celtic had a goal chalked off during the match, and video assistant referee officials were unable to review the incident properly because the ball had gone out of the frame captured by the broadcast cameras. As a result, there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the assistant referee's original call that a cross from Sebastian Tounekti had gone out of play before the goal was scored, leaving Celtic without recourse despite their frustrations.
Away from matters on the pitch, it has emerged that O'Neill was left disappointed after Celtic missed out on the signing of Torino midfielder Gvidas Gineitis. The player's agent, Dmitri Vinokurov, suggested that internal disagreement at Celtic was behind the collapse of the deal, claiming that while the club's coaching staff were keen on the move, not everyone within the wider management structure shared the same conviction. According to Vinokurov, this lack of unified backing ultimately proved to be the