Pundit claims Celtic decision is ‘disrespectful’ to Rangers

Celtic do have a good habit of bringing some academy players through to first team success. Is It disrespectful, as a Scottish media pundit suggests, to select one of those to start against Rangers?

Another Celtic academy player took a big step in the right direction against Hamilton Academical. It’s so far been a short run in the first team, and not without its moments. They have been huge games where the results and his performances have helped add some stability and of course, bring some notable success.

Many were surprised to see Conor Hazard step out from the shadows to stand between the posts against Lille. And then to continue to hold onto that place down for the following matches.

This included the Scottish Cup final against Hearts. And of course, that final had its penalty shoot-out decider where Hazard stepped up to the occasion to stop two Hearts’ penalty kicks making him an instant hero. As the jovial social media messages will remind, he has more winning medals than most of the Rangers squad that he may face in a week or two’s time!

He is shaping up to be a decent goalkeeper but his breakthrough owes more to a series of Celtic failures. Missing out on Fraser Forster over the summer, combined with the struggles of £5 million signing Vasilis Barkas and Scott Bain not impressing when his opportunity came.

He has had decent games, though only presented with limited opportunity in those to show what he can do between the posts. Some will criticise the occasional inexperienced slips. The Cup final had a couple of goals, for example, where a mix of Hazard being stronger and the referee being able to spot Naismith’s push would have made a big difference.

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Sunday’s game at Hamilton showed more from Hazard, despite the Celtic dominance. Normally the heads of Duffy and Jullien might be given priority in the penalty box when defending and the keeper being less prominent. Was there a gap expected at the weekend where although Ajer and Bitton can get a head to a crossed ball, the instruction and priority for Hazard may have been to come for more of the crosses? He certainly was strong when it came to reaching out for crossed balls and taking them safely in his grasp throughout the match. A mix of growing confidence and tactical awareness perhaps.

Which then leads to the question of who will face the Rangers in the Celtic goal on 2nd January? Fans might have expected to see Barkas or Bain re-emerge against Ross County and/or Hamilton. But they didn’t. And one wouldn’t expect either of those to suddenly be dropped in at Ibrox without a game beforehand.

As an emergency perhaps, but as a planned approach, it would seem unusual. The match against Dundee United on Wednesday will surely hold the clue on the starting keeper for that Glasgow Derby showdown. It may even give a clue to any possibility of Forster returning in January.

Yet, Hugh Keevins claims in the Daily Record that starting Hazard against the Rangers would be disrespectful:

"“To use the word of the moment for Celtic supporters, it would be “disrespectful” if Neil Lennon picked young keeper Conor Hazard to play against Rangers at Ibrox next Saturday.“Hazard has nowhere near the standard of experience necessary for a fixture that would effectively end Celtic’s dream of 10 In A Row if they lose to Rangers.“And Celtic ought to have a duty of care to the player that respects his immaturity instead of allowing the threat of a giant shadow being cast over his career at an early stage by ignoring his apprentice status.”"

Well, it’d be surprising if any Celtic followers would have a worry about disrespecting the Rangers. If a player has the ability and form then he’s good to be considered to play. There is a good point being made about protecting the player and his development. Exposing him to huge risk and failure isn’t possibly a good move. But it’s possibly always a risk for new players breaking through and possibly applies as much to Barkas as it does to Hazard.

Wonder what he thought about Kylian Mbappe starting in the World Cup by the way!