If Julian Araujo didn’t have his feet under the desk at Celtic before today, he certainly does now.
The right-back wasn’t signed by Martin O’Neill, but has established himself as a key player since the Irishman’s arrival.
And at Rugby Park, Araujo’s winner completed a classic comeback. 2-0 down at the break, the Hoops were down and out.
But after a trio of half-time subs – led by Sebastian Tounekti – changed the game, the Hoops won with a last-minute winner in the third match running.
Araujo was understandably on cloud nine – but O’Neill is keen to keep him grounded.
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Martin O’Neill on Julian Araujo’s Celtic winner vs Kilmarnock
The game was in the last of seven added minutes when the ball rolled to the Mexico international and he made no mistake.
The goal left Neil McCann distraught at the added period – not the first time that we’ve been in that position this season.
READ MORE: Distraught Neil McCann slams added time after Celtic inflict Kilmarnock heartbreak
But speaking after the game, O’Neill admitted that Araujo’s first-half performance was making him regret some of his previous comments.
He said: “Right, there were periods in the first half where I would have retracted what I said, you know, but he did great.
“For him to arrive there in the box at that time, I’m still having to, I haven’t seen it back first time, but some of the lads are telling me he still had to put it into the net.
“So well done him, he made up for some of his first half recklessness.”
On the team’s mentality in general, the Hoops boss said: “Well, I think that I’ve just said in an interview there, that 20 odd years ago, I managed a really fine team, who had loads of spirit, loads of determination, all saw it to the end.
“There were many traits here about this side, they’ve shown fantastic character, really from a poor first half, from our viewpoint.
“Strong Kilmarnock, 2-0 down at halftime, and they never gave up.”
It’s European action up next for O’Neill and his players.
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Celtic’s upcoming fixtures after Kilmarnock win
After an exhausting week, the Hoops now have to deal with the small matter of a Europa League tie against Stuttgart.
Sandwiched between the two legs – the first of which is at Celtic Park on Thursday – is a home league match against Hibs.
It doesn’t get any quieter after that. In a rare occurrence, Celtic will travel to Ibrox twice in a week, with a game at Pittodrie in the middle.
There’s no let-up after that, either – they head straight into a home clash with high-flying Motherwell.
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