Has Nir Bitton now cemented his position in the starting eleven?

With the news that Nir Bitton has been named in the Cinch SPFL/Premier Sports Cup team of the week after yet another excellent display at the heart of the Celtic midfield it really is time to look closer at his contribution to the team and discuss whether he deserves to remain in the team even upon Tom Rogic’s return.

Since Ange Postecoglou took over in the summer Nir has had an unlikely career resurgence, making 15 appearances in total this season in all competitions. Recently he has been getting rave reviews for his performances which have been fully deserved. The main reason for this resurgence is that he is finally getting an extended run in his most natural position, centre midfield.

Signed in 2013 by Neil Lennon it’s unbelievable to think that Nir has been at the club for over 8 years. He had a quiet start to his Celtic career under Lennon, possibly struggling with comparisons to the player he was brought in to help replace, Victor Wanyama. It was under Ronny Delia that Bitton first began to flourish, showing plenty of steel and guile in the middle of the pitch and also chipping in with a fair few goals, most of which were stunning long range strikes.

It was under Brendan Rodgers that Bitton started to regress. While most of his teammates seemed inspired by Rodgers appointment, Bitton’s performance levels actually declined and he soon fell out of the first team picture with Stuart Armstrong impressing more than the Israeli international.

It was Rodgers though that first started utilising him into a ‘ball playing’ centre back in the summer of 2017, something I personally disagreed with. While the idea may have worked out well in later years with Kris Ajer, I thought Bitton never fully suited the role. Up until Ange took over this summer Bitton had been continually deployed in this role over recent years under both Rodgers and Lennon, very sparingly getting a chance to impress in his more natural position in midfield.

Since Tom Rogic got injured against Hibs at the tail end of October, Bitton has stepped up and put in some fantastic performances during the past month. He has easily been one of our best players in the last few matches which leads us to wonder about what happens when the Australian is back to full fitness and raring to go. Does Rogic have to bide his time on the bench or will Bitton make way for his return?

Personally I believe Bitton is undroppable on current form. I think he adds so much to the Celtic midfield with a mix of high level technical ability, a fantastic ability to read the game and a more defensively minded attitude than our other midfielders. Having Bitton guarding the area just in front of the defence means the likes of Callum McGregor can influence the play further up the park.

I think the position that should be up for grabs should be the attacking midfield position. Before the injury to Rogic the manager had been playing both the Australian and David Turnbull in midfield which I think left the area unbalanced and required Callum McGregor to do all of the dirty work on his own. Against some of the weaker teams in Scotland it worked fine as we were on the front foot most of the time but against the top 6 sides and in Europe it often left us exposed.

I’m surely not the only one who has noticed that Turnbull has been quiet recently, in fact to be brutally honest at some stages during matches he’s been totally anonymous. If it’s a straight pick between him and Rogic I would be inclined to go with the Australian who has a unique ability to produce moments of magic and is capable of unlocking even the most stubborn of defences. As Rogic isn’t known for completing the full 90 minutes it would be a major advantage having someone like Turnbull to come on in the last third of the game.

In conclusion I think that Nir Bitton has done enough recently to cement his position in the starting eleven. When everyone is fit I think on current form it should be David Turnbull who drops out, even though I think he’s a fantastic young player I think that a midfield containing Rogic, McGregor and Bitton is our best choice going forward. It will provide the perfect balance in the middle and should play to the strengths of each player involved.

I would like to hear what the rest of you think as I’m sure many will disagree with me so please leave your comments below.

Conall McGinty