Martin O’Neill Reacts to Yang’s ‘Important’ Celtic Contract Extension

Yang Hyun-jun’s new Celtic contract probably says as much about Martin O’Neill’s influence as it does the player himself.

A year ago, there were genuine doubts around Yang’s long-term future in Glasgow. He had shown flashes since arriving from South Korea in 2023, but too often matches drifted past him and his final decision inside the box frustrated supporters.

This season changed that.

Yang finished the campaign with double figures for goals across all competitions and became a far more trusted option during Celtic’s title-winning run under O’Neill. T

Instead of forcing rushed passes inside crowded areas, Yang attacked defenders more directly and trusted his pace again. O’Neill clearly played a major role there because he repeatedly backed the winger publicly even after difficult performances earlier in the season.

The Celtic manager also simplified parts of Yang’s game.

When Celtic broke quickly, Yang’s running power suddenly became dangerous rather than isolated. His pressing without the ball improved as well, which mattered hugely to O’Neill during the title run-in.

Now Celtic have rewarded that progress with a contract extension running until 2030.

O’Neill discussed Yang’s improvement after the deal was confirmed.

He said: (Celtic FC), “The reason that he has done well is that he’s got big, big goals for us at big moments, and he’s brave as well.

“He takes the ball under pressure. The parts of his game that we talk about when we go through his clips each week, sometimes we ask, can you do this, can you do this.

“He’s super and he’s worked his way back into the South Korean squad.

“The very obvious thing is improvement.

“He tries to improve his game, he tries to visualise situations when he’s got the ball wide, when players are coming in to crowd him out, what does he do there?

“The last thing you want to do is come inside and flick a silly little ball to somebody that doesn’t exist.

“So those are the types of things that I think he definitely can improve in, but in terms of confidence, he’s got it this season.

“People believe in him and that’s very important, but the overall improvement in his game, I think he can take it a stage further, and obviously that’s what I’m hoping.”

That last part probably matters most.

O’Neill clearly still believes there is another level Yang can reach physically and tactically. At 23, Celtic are now betting heavily that this season was the beginning rather than the peak.