Feisty Martin O'Neill in spiky exchange with reporter as Celtic boss irritated by one accusation

Celtic lost 2-0 to Falkirk despite creating numerous chances; O'Neill defended his team selection and blamed poor finishing.

Celtic fell to a 2-0 defeat against Falkirk, with goals from Ethan Ross and Scott Tanser in the first half. Despite being champions, Celtic struggled to break down Falkirk's defence and squandered several opportunities, including a Jacob Murrell effort ruled out for handball by VAR.

Manager Martin O'Neill made changes to his starting XI, bringing in Haissem Hassan, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Cameron Carter-Vickers. When pressed on his "inconsistent" team selections, O'Neill pushed back, citing the demanding fixture schedule with European football commitments. "We've gone Thursday, Sunday, Wednesday, Sunday, for quite some considerable time," he said. "It's hard for the same players to play every single week."

O'Neill was frustrated by suggestions his team's form was a concern, pointing instead to missed chances and Falkirk goalkeeper Scott Bain's inspired performance. "If we'd taken even half the chances we had, we would have won today," he said. Celtic have now won just three of their last ten games.