Martin O'Neill has say on Celtic star man's failed exit, Kieran Tierney injury and Alistair Johnston impact

Maeda scored two goals and provided an assist as Celtic moved joint-top of the Premiership with a 3-1 home win over Falkirk on Saturday evening.

The Japanese was close to a transfer to German top-flight outfit Wolfsburg back in August and admitted afterwards that he was set to end his spell at Celtic, which dates back to the start of 2022.

Maeda was named Scotland’s player of the year last term but has struggled to reach those heights this time around. However, he was back to his energetic self against the Bairns and his pressing directly contributed to two of Celtic’s goals.

“Daizen, who was fantastic throughout the game, gets us a goal out of nothing and continues to play brilliantly through the course of the match,” said O’Neill afterwards. “His closing down is amazing. Even in the 85th minute, he closes someone down. I thought he was brilliant.”

Asked why Maeda is approaching his best form at this juncture of the season, O’Neill continued: "It may well have been that move to the Bundesliga may have affected him at the time. Maybe he thought he was all set up - or so I believe, I wasn't here at the time. I think he had maybe done his job here and felt 'well, maybe I deserve to go to the Bundesliga'. And when it didn't happen, and apparently it may have been at the 11th hour, there will be a natural disappointment.

“I'm only putting that out - it may not be that at all - but he's come roaring back. He deserves any accolades that have been bestowed on anyone over the past few weeks.”

Celtic can now sit back and watch how fellow title contenders Hearts and Rangers get on against Hibs and Motherwell respectively on Sunday. “Of course we'll watch the games tomorrow,” said O’Neill. “At the end of it all, we still have to win the game. Our mindset has to be that we cannot afford to drop a point. That's what was pleasing about today. At a stage when Falkirk made it 2-1, the game is in balance. We got the goal and saw it through.”

O’Neill was thankful for a far more united Celtic Park than at times this season, with passionate backing throughout. “I think the support we got was terrific,” said O’Neill. “They stayed with the team when there were moments of anxiety which I thought we showed for a little period of time and which could have spilled over into the crowd. They stayed with us, which was fantastic.”

There was also a major boost in the shape of Alistair Johnston, with the right-back returning after months on the sidelines with a hamstring problem. “I thought that was amazing,” he said of the crowd’s raucous reaction to his appearance. “He is very popular here and there’s reasons for that. That was very encouraging. I thought he did fine. This week’s training will bring him on again. He’s itching to go.”

Kieran Tierney, who scored Celtic’s second goal, came off injured and O’Neill provided an update. “I’m hoping he will be alright, from the knock I think he will recover but the general fatigue I think is still causing a problem,” said O’Neill, who added: “It was a great goal from him.”

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