Celtic’s title winning glory Bhoy Callum Osmand will pitch himself to Martin O’Neill shortly as the striker looks to be given more minutes this season…
Callum Osmand experienced plenty of the glory in playing for Celtic last season but knows that he didn’t get enough minutes, mostly down to his football being limited to Martin O’Neill’s two interim spells and an awful hamstring injury suffered in the Europa League match at Midtjylland.
The glory moments were however wonderful and the young striker will certainly remember be remembered for his League Cup semi-final goal against the Rangers at Hampden.
Callum Osmand scores. Celtic v theRangers. Premier Sports Cup, semi final at Hampden. 2 November 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou
Then more significantly for his magical moment at the end of the never to be forgotten title decider against Hearts in the last moment of the last game of the season which made certain in the last few seconds of the season that Celtic would be Champions.
Now Osmand wants the minutes, to show that he can deliver for the team across the season and not just at key moments coming off the bench.
Speaking to the mainstream media this week Callum outlined his plans to chat to Martin O’Neill to pitch himself for more first team responsibilities in the upcoming campaign, having already had chats with the two Celtic coaches Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham.
“I saw something that was saying it’s now more about seeing if I can do it against everyone now instead of just having a couple of big moments. I want to challenge myself to be able to do it week in, week out and not just be a moments player,” Callum Osmand told Scottish Sun.
“I want to stake my claim and show I can do more than that and be a regular and give the same as what I’ve been giving in the moments week in, week out. That’s the goal for me this year. Just giving what I can give all the time instead of just here and there.”
Martin O’Neill is clearly an admirer of the young former striker whose goal against Hearts may well have been the most watched Celtic goal in decades. How many times have you watched it? Hundreds probably…
“I’ve not had a chance to speak to him yet. I should probably put that back in my mind. I am going to do that,” Osmand said as he vocalised his thoughts and decided he had to sit down with the manager to put forward his case.
“Now we’re back in Glasgow, that is something I’ll do. I’ve spoken with Shaun Maloney and Mark Fotheringham about general stuff and that side of things. But I do want to sit down with the manager as well to go through that side of stuff,” Osmand said.
Clearly happy that Martin O’Neill returned to the club in the summer after agreeing a one year contract with another year option, Osmand realises that the manager has been prepared to utilise him and now he reckons it’s time to deliver more.
“It’s amazing he’s stayed on. I’m very happy he’s still here,”Callum said. “Hopefully he can make use of me this year and I can play for him and do what I do best.
“I’m just hoping I get that chance. I’m going to work as hard as I can, the same as last year, to make sure I can put myself in the best place. Last season he and the coaching staff showed a lot of faith in me so hopefully it’s the start of something big.”
The Celtic squad thin and likely to get thinner in the coming weeks, Michael Nicholson has no problem selling players, it’s the recruitment he struggles with according to his recent comments at the AICSC which we reported on yesterday. It’s a concerning read for all Celtic supporters.
We can expect sales with the likes of Daizen Maeda, Reo Hatate and Arne Engels heading out the door. Replacing them will be problematic, based Michael Nicholson’s comments. So with a weakened squad that will give hitherto fringe players like Callum Osmand the chance he wants.
Yes it’s deserved but in the same minutes from the Irish Celtic Supporters AGM at the start of this month, Martin O’Neill clearly stated that the squad – as it stands before sales – is NOT strong enough to compete.
That’s where we are just a few weeks before the season starts. Minutes from that AICSC are shown below…
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