Celtic surely are on a roll this season in domestic competitions. Brendan Rodgers had his and Celtic’s reputation to revive when he took the job at Parkhead and the Northern Irishman is certainly going about it the right way. The Hoops have already made it to the final of the Scottish League Cup that will take place later this month at Hampden Park as they will be looking to clinch their first trophy of the season beating Aberdeen, the only team that came close to challenge their monopoly in Scotland in the last couple of years.
Celtic’s domestic form and European form has been chalk and cheese this campaign although it was unfortunate for the Bhoys to be drawn into the same group that consists strong sides like Barcelona, Manchester City and Borussia Monchengladbach. It is unlikely that the Bhoys will even qualify for the Europa League but the Bhoys look to be in the driver’s seat for the title.
The quality of the Celtic squad is now at a level that the Premiership looks too easy for them. However, one player who used to be a key man at Parkhead is not playing too much nowadays. Nir Bitton is finding it really hard to get a place in the starting XI of late. With Callum McGregor and Stuart Armstrong doing a decent job at the middle of the park, the Israeli international’s place in the middle of the park looks in jeopardy.
Bitton is quite a talented player and used be a first-team regular since he joined the Hoops. The midfield enforcer attracted an enormous interest from a number of big clubs from the south of the border in the last few transfer windows especially this summer but despite all his talent, he is finding it hard to impress Rodgers.
Defensive midfield is one of the most important positions in modern football. Players like Claude Makelele, Sergio Busquets, and Thiago Motta all play a key role for their respective sides but Rodgers has always been a manager who does not fancy playing with an out and out number six which is the key reason why Bitton finds himself out of favour at Celtic Park.
Both McGregor and Armstrong are wingers by trade and offers a lot of creativity when deployed as a number eight. Skipper Scott Brown is now deployed as the deepest midfielder for the Hoops and Rodgers seems pretty happy with his side’s defensive display.
As of now, Bitton needs to work on his passing and creativity to make his way back to the starting XI or else his time looks up at Parkhead because he is too good a player to be dropped.
