Martin O’Neill explains Arne Engels’ absence from Celtic’s matchday squad vs Dundee

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Martin O’Neill made several changes to his Celtic XI ahead of Dundee’s visit in the Scottish Cup on Saturday evening.

The standout name, not just missing from Celtic’s starting XI but also the matchday squad at Parkhead, was Arne Engels.

Of course, this comes days after Celtic rejected bids from Nottingham Forest for Engels, including a mammoth offer of £25 million.

There were suggestions that Engels was ‘unhappy’ at the rejected bids, so you can understand the Celtic fans wondering if the two are linked, but according to O’Neill, they aren’t.

• READ MORE: Chris Sutton pulls curtain on what Martin O’Neill really thinks about Celtic recruitment

Why Arne Engels didn’t make Celtic’s matchday squad in the Scottish Cup vs Dundee

It seems as though O’Neill is using this Scottish Cup match to rotate his squad because that was his explanation to Premier Sports.

O’Neill stated that ‘everything is absolutely fine’ with Celtic’s club-record transfer, and it was a case of looking ahead to the fixture pile-up for the Hoops.

“Yeah, everything is absolutely fine, not a problem whatsoever,” said O’Neill about Engels’ absence. “It’s a matter of trying to change the side around a little bit.

“Changing, I am not talking about changing the side, I am talking about rotating, really, as much as anything else. We have a lot of games from here until the end of the season to play.”

Celtic’s upcoming fixtures before the international break…

Celtic’s clash at Aberdeen was postponed in midweek. On the one hand, it has provided the team with a much-needed rest.

But on the other hand, it’s just another midweek fixture to deal with when the Hoops restart their Europa League campaign next month.

Nonetheless, the international stars will be on their travels at the end of March for the final international break of the season, and this is what Celtic’s fixture list looks like until then.

• Vs Livingston, Premiership, Wednesday, 11th February (H)
• Vs Kilmarnock, Premiership, Sunday, 15th February (A)
• Vs Stuttgart, Europa League, Thursday, 19th February (H)
• Vs Hibernian, Premiership, Sunday, 22nd February (H)
• Vs Stuttgart, Europa League, Thursday, 26th February (A)
• Vs Rangers, Premiership, Sunday, 1st March (H)
• Vs Aberdeen, Premiership, Wednesday, 4th March (A)
• Vs Motherwell, Premiership, Saturday, 14th March (H)
• Vs Dundee United, Premiership, Sunday, 22nd March (A)