Celtic winger Haissem Hassan has been told he must do more if he wants to nail down a starting place in the current team.

Hassan has featured in 17 games across all competitions since arriving at Celtic in the summer for an initial fee of £6 million, but has yet to score whilst registering just two assists.

The Egypt international didn’t even appear in the matchday squad in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Kilmarnock, with Martin O’Neill citing competition for places as the reason. 

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Camilo Durán started on the right flank and moved through the middle later on when James Forrest and Yang Hyun-jun came on.

Hassan’s ability to beat his man is unquestionable, but former Celt Charlie Mulgrew says the 24-year-old must improve or risk falling further down the pecking order.

Speaking to Go Radio, Mulgrew said:

“You’ve got to have an end product as a winger. And if you’ve not got that regularly, you need to at least work hard.”

The return of Yang against Killie was a welcome boost for O’Neill, but it means further competition for Hassan.

Mulgrew believes the Egyptian should take a leaf out of the South Korean’s book when it comes to work rate.

“I think that’s where the manager likes Yang, because he puts a shift in, he works back the park. Hassan, sometimes, can switch off when Celtic don’t have the ball. If you’re going to be that kind of player, you need to be really clinical with your finishing, your crossing or your assists, because you can’t carry players.”

Sunday was Yang’s first Celtic appearance since September. He featured once for South Korea at the Asian Games after that before injury brought his tournament to an end. He’s back fit now and ready to remind supporters just what he can bring to this team in terms of his energy and ability to get into threatening areas.

Hassan has been called up to his national side once again, with his new boss Ali Maher stressing that “hard work and perseverance” are essential to his squad.

While Hassan’s Hoops career is still in its early days, his mentality will be tested as he now faces additional competition for a place in O’Neill’s starting XI.