Martin O’Neill reckons Sam Johnstone may have played his way into the manager’s thinking for a starting spot against Rangers in the Premier Sports Cup.
The on-loan Wolves goalkeeper made a strong first impression on his Celtic debut with a starring role as the Hoops beat St Johnstone 1-0 at McDiarmid Park on Wednesday evening. The four-time England cap started against the Saints and kept a clean sheet to ensure the club stayed unbeaten at the top of the Scottish Premiership.
Johnstone was even called upon to make a stunning stop to keep out Joe Cotterill’s effort before he also prevented Celtic going 1-0 down when he was tested by Taylor Steven with the score still goalless.
Mika Baur’s strike would be enough for the visitors to take all three points and while the German would make the headlines, manager O’Neill was quick to point out Johnstone’s importance in the win.
And when asked specifically if the 33-year-old may well start at Ibrox on Sunday, O’Neill gave an honest answer. “Yes, he’s done very, very well indeed,” the Northern Irishman said. “But you need to find out. While I do not want to use games like this, I have to find out about a number of players.
“For instance, Oliver Sorensen started the game tonight. Our main man only came on in the last 10 or 15 minutes. So it does, it gives you food for thought.”
On Johnstone’s save in the first-half, O’Neill added: “The save was fantastic. Really, really brilliant reaction save. He’s been a fine goalkeeper. It’s just a matter of getting up to speed with things.
“I think he took a bit of cramp then. A goalkeeper taking cramp, whatever next.
🎙️ “That’s a terrific save!“
Celtic’s Sam Johnstone prevents St Johnstone from taking the lead on his debut 🧤 pic.twitter.com/og2nvh6MTb
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) September 9, 2026
“But anyway, I think Peter Shilton took cramp way back in 1979 as well too, so I shouldn’t complain.”
Johnstone’s debut came at the expense of Viljami Sinisalo who has not done much wrong in recent weeks. And O’Neill revealed he had a conversation with the Finland international before the game.
He said: “Yes, yes. But you need competition for places.
“Yes, I spoke to him, and he’s taken it. We’ll see what happens on Sunday. But we’ve got loads and loads of games, and it is really nice to know that I have actually two really decent goalkeepers.”
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