Haissem Hassan is taking time to adapt to life at Celtic but his recent work has impressed manager Martin O’Neill.

Winger Hassan joined Celtic from Real Oviedo last summer after shining for Egypt at the World Cup, but has only shown flashes of his quality in the opening months of this season.

O’Neill admitted that the 24-year-old has found it challenging to settle in Glasgow, but reckons that he is improving week on week and was pleased with his second-half cameo during Wednesday’s 2-2 draw with Dundee United. The wide-man is pushing for a start when Celtic take on Falkirk away from home in the Premiership on Sunday.

"I thought he did really well [vs Dundee United], because he has got the ability to cut inside, and he got a shot off, a strong shot that made a really good save,” said O’Neill.

"He can go on the outside, and strangely enough now he's on his weaker foot, which would be his right foot, but he's able to make decent crosses coming in.

"And personally speaking, I honestly think that he would have had, if we had taken advantage of some of the stuff that he has done, more assists than he's had, that's my genuine view.

"He is definitely one that's taking time to settle in, of course, and like all players with flair and stuff like this here, you have to put up with some of the things that you don't do so well, and I think that's the point, and I think this is the whole thing about us, we're still trying to get the best out of the players.”

O’Neill disputed that a reported £9 million price-tag was causing issues - and suggested Celtic paid less than that for his services.

"What is his price tag by the way?” queried O’Neill, raising an eye-brow when £9m was put to him. “I'm not sure that that was the case, in all honesty. No, nowhere near that. But no, he's come to terms with it, his English is not great at the moment, and I think he's just genuinely come to terms with Glasgow life and come to terms with the way that we see him in the side.”

O’Neill was a winger himself as a player but reckons the game has evolved significantly since he was asked to attack down the flanks.

"Yeah, different in the sense that I did play wide, like in a 4-4-2 for most of the time,” added O’Neill, “but he is one of those sorts of wingers that a lot of teams are now using, a left-footed player on the right-hand side, a right-footed player on the left-hand side, so a wee bit different.

"What we should, like all clubs, be looking at when he steps inside, he should be able to see, hopefully, and that's for us to do, is for him to see some more alternatives than just whipping something in, for somebody to show up on the edge of the penalty box, stuff like that.

"But that's not his problem, that's our problem.”