Martin O’Neill has come out in support of Celtic’s call to bring Stephen Welsh back from his loan spell at Motherwell.
The centre-back made a steady return to Parkhead following a productive first half of the campaign at Fir Park.
Welsh had been a regular feature in Jens Berthel-Askou’s side, who currently occupy fourth place in the Premiership, sitting four points behind Celtic.
The decision to recall the 25-year-old came on the back of Celtic’s emphatic 4-0 win over Dundee United in O’Neill’s opening match of his third stint in charge.
Celtic’s defensive options are presently stretched, with key figure Cameron Carter-Vickers sidelined for the long term.
The remaining recognised defenders include Liam Scales, Auston Trusty and Dane Murray.
However, some criticism has surfaced over the possible effect on Welsh’s development, given the early conclusion of what had been a fruitful loan spell.
Speaking to Celtic TV, O’Neill nonetheless explained the rationale behind the decision.
He said: “Well, at the moment, he’s enjoying himself immensely at Motherwell.
“We have this opportunity to do that and then he can go back out again before the end of the window, back to Motherwell if he can.”
“We just need him in case we’ve got anything that happens to any of our defensive players.
“We’ve got three at this minute, you’ve got young Dane who’s very inexperienced in that sense, who I think can definitely be a player, I think there’s a player there.
“But if anything happens to those lads at all, then you are in a bit of trouble.”
Welsh returns to the squad ahead of a tricky away trip to top-six surprise package Falkirk, who come into the match on the back of impressive victories over Aberdeen and St Mirren.
O’Neill spoke highly of their manager and admitted the challenge that lies ahead.
He said: “Oh, I think it’s exceptionally tough, exceptionally tough for us.
“You have to play Falkirk who are flying at this minute; they won at the weekend, they’re really good.
“I’ve got a lot of time for the manager (John McGlynn), he’s done wonders there at the football club.”
Anticipating another stern test, O’Neill added: “And yeah, it’ll be difficult.
“I know we won a few weeks ago at our place, I still thought that was a difficult game and this is exactly what I expect.
“It’s just a difficult game.”
Celtic interim boss Martin O’Neill has admitted it is “unlikely” that striker Kyogo Furuhashi will make a return to the club.
The Parkhead side had lodged a loan enquiry with Birmingham City regarding a possible move.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s clash with Dundee Utd, O’Neill was questioned on the matter and responded: “I would have said that would probably be unlikely.
“There is a viewpoint that he wants to really prove himself at Birmingham, which is no surprise.”
Sky Sports News reported on Thursday that the forward is viewed as an important part of the Championship outfit’s squad, despite failing to find the net in his 23 league outings to date.
The 30-year-old departed Celtic last January after completing a £10m switch to Rennes, following advice from Japan head coach Hajime Moriyasu to move to one of Europe’s top five leagues in order to boost his chances of making the World Cup squad this summer.
He fell out of favour at Rennes and subsequently joined Birmingham in a deal also worth £10m last summer.