Having quality wingers has been a staple of any Celtic team over the past decade. From Scotty Sinclair to Jota, Celtic have always had an abundance of attacking quality out wide.
Hibernian v Celtic – Mikey Johnston right and Hibernian s Lewis Miller battle for the ball during the cinch Premiership match at Easter Road on Saturday October 28, 2023. Photo Jane Barlow
James Forrest and Mikey Johnston finished the game on the wings as Rodgers side faltered to a 0-0 draw at Easter Road. Although both players are not starters, the reliance on both academy graduates to produce the quality to win the game for Celtic is a worrying sign of where Celtic’s squad depth is at the moment.
The return of Liel Abada in December will help aid this, but it remains an issue across this current Celtic squad. Ralston, Turnbull, Forrest, Oh and Johnston were the five subs relied upon to positively impact the game on Saturday and grab Celtic all three points.
For a Celtic side keen to make an impact in Europe this season, and with the talks of “five-year plans” and ambitions of making significant progression in Europe at the beginning of the season, Celtic’s squad depth does not reflect such aspirations.
There is no doubting the quality of Celtic’s best eleven and the ability of those players to compete at the highest level, as seen in the performance and result against Atletico Madrid.
But beyond that core eleven players, Celtic lack that same quality coming off the bench.
New signings such as Odin Thiago Holm (who is back training) and Hyun-Jun Yang, who have shone brightest this season out of all the summer signings, will only get better this season as they see more gametime.
The same too could be said for Oh Hyeon-Gyu who has received an unfair amount of criticism in his limited game-time this season. Attacking substitutions given the responsibility of making a difference in games recently have failed to do so, Rodgers will be aware of this more than anyone.
Reo Hatate of Celtic looks dejected as he leaves the field after sustaining an injury during the UEFA Champions League match between Celtic FC and Atletico Madrid at Celtic Park Stadium on October 25, 2023 . (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
Those same attacking options will see further opportunities in the coming fixtures, and with the injury to Reo Hatate, the chance is there for someone to grasp it.
James French
Matt Corr’s new book Majic, Stan and the King of Japan is out now and Neil Lennon, the Celtic captain that season, has written the foreword for us.
You can get a signed copy of the hardback version direct from Celtic Star Books by clicking on the image below. It’s also available an an e-book via Amazon Kindle and please note that all colour photographs that appear in the beautifully presented printed hardback book are also available in the Kindle version of Majic, Stan and the King of Japan…
