Martin O’Neill hopes Celtic can keep Alistair Johnston and Arne Engels through their Champions League play-off despite the transfer interest around both players.

The pair started Celtic’s 1-0 league win over Dundee at Celtic Park while speculation continues over possible moves away.

Speaking to Clyde 1 Superscoreboard after the match, O’Neill said both players had made clear they wanted to keep playing while their situations remained unresolved.

“Yeah, Alistair and Arne both said to me that they would want to play in the game if things had not progressed, and I thought they did fine,” he said.

“Alistair’s got a very strong mindset anyway, you know, and so, yeah, but you are naturally worried about transfer speculation in the background.”

Johnston has been linked with Everton, while Engels has attracted interest from West Ham.

Neither player showed any clear sign of being distracted against Dundee, with Johnston completing the match and Engels playing in midfield as Celtic opened the season with three points.

O’Neill was then asked whether he would like to keep both players available for the Champions League play-off against LASK.

The first leg will take place at Celtic Park on 19 August, with the return match away from home on 25 August.

“Ideally, that would be brilliant. That would be really good,” he said.

“One wouldn’t know whether the clubs, the other clubs, would want to pursue that if that was the case.

“I’m quite sure that anybody starting off in their own particular leagues would want their players in as soon as possible, but ideally that would be great.

“For me, selfishly, that would be great.”

The comments show O’Neill is keen to avoid losing two key starters before Celtic’s biggest European fixtures of the summer.

Johnston remains the first-choice right-back, while Engels is a regular in midfield and would be difficult to replace at short notice.

Celtic are already working to improve the squad before the LASK tie, but losing either player beforehand would create another gap to fill.

O’Neill did not suggest either transfer was close, but he accepted that the clubs showing interest may push to complete deals before their own seasons begin.

For now, both Johnston and Engels remain Celtic players and have told the manager they are ready to keep playing while no move has been completed.