Martin O'Neill not fooled by Celtic score as he hails 'real bargain' and reveals player set for scan

Three high-quality goals have put Celtic in a good position ahead of next week’s second leg in Austria. But O’Neill believes Celtic can still improve and they might have to in order to keep LASK at bay and secure the estimated £40 million windfall for clinching a return to the Champions League.

Celtic survived some shaky moments in the opening stages. LASK had a goal ruled offside and also wasted another golden chance before a bravura performance from Camilo Duran took the game away from the visitors. The Colombian struck twice after Benjamin Nygren opened the scoring on 26 minutes. “He has paid for his ticket now, it’s only his fourth game,” smiled O’Neill, referring to Duran. The forward was signed for around £6 million including add-ons from Qarabag of Azerbaijan earlier this summer. “It’s not an awful lot of money when you consider some of the fees talked about for the Premier League," noted O'Neill. "He has been a real bargain."

O’Neill described the opening half as “like a basketball game” with LASK passing up other good opportunities to score. “We rode our luck a little bit,” he admitted.

But having steadied themselves, Celtic took confidence from two exquisite finishes from Nygren and Duran to take a commanding 2-0 lead. Duran scored another fine goal - after exchanging passes with Nygren - midway through the second half to put Celtic in the Champions League driving seat. O’Neill, however, is taking nothing for granted.

“They (LASK) started the brighter, it took us time to get going," he said. "But when we did we scored a great goal from Nygren to take a bit of the pressure off, and give us the lead. And then Duran’s two goals were fantastic. But the game is absolutely in the balance.”

O’Neill is not fooled by the handsome first-leg lead. “I didn’t have to say it to the players in the dressing room,” he said. “They absolutely know. I think we are capable of scoring (over there) which we might need to do.

“I am not playing it down at all,” he added. “We are a long way away, genuinely. Next Tuesday will be a big test for us.

“Our goals were fantastic, good enough to win any football match,” he added. “But there is a long way to go yet.”

O’Neill described Duran as “exceptional”. He noted his willingness to track back to help 19-year-old right back Colby Donovan, who was also superb. “He (Duran) has been fantastic for us since he arrived at this football club,” said O’Neill. “His goals were terrific, his play was great, his running back, helping Colby out on a number of occasions. It was a magnificent performance. If he stays clear of injury, he is going to be a really, really good player.”

O’Neill also praised Nygren’s performance. The Swede has now scored in every game so far this season. “His form since the start of the season has been terrific, he was brilliant for us tonight,” said the manager.

O’Neill still believes Celtic can improve, in terms of fitness as much as anything. “We had to be at it every single minute, overall we defended strongly,” he said. “(Viljami) Sinisalo was great – he made a big save for us at 2-0. If it goes 2-1 they are in the ascendancy at that stage.”

The teenage Donovan also caught the eye at right back in front of the watching new Scotland manager Sebastien Pocognoli. “He did brilliantly, he did great,” said O’Neill. “He has a really big heart and that is nice to see. He is a local lad too and loves it, he loves the football club and loves playing. His enthusiasm is boundless and he stuck to his task brilliantly.”

Donovan is standing in for the injured Alistair Johnston, who O’Neill revealed is due to have a scan on Thursday for the leg muscle injury sustained against Kilmarnock two weekends ago. “By the time I meet up with you again, we should have an idea (how long he will be out),” he said.