Ange Postecoglou must drop Celtic star from starting XI

Celtic managed to move one step closer to the Premiership title with their 1-1 draw against the Rangers at Parkhead. Jota had put the hosts ahead in the first half but Fashion Sakala would equalise for the visitors after the break. The two sides could not be separated over the 90 minutes though and shared the points. The result means though that the Hoops maintain their 6 point lead in the title race heading into the final three league games of the campaign.

Celtic have a vastly superior goal difference over the Rangers as well and thus, while they still mathematically need 4 points to put the title race to bed, realistically 3 could be enough. Their next game is at Parkhead against a tough Hearts side. After that they have an away trip to Dundee United before finishing the season off at home against Motherwell.

The second half performance against the Rangers did give Postecoglou a lot to think about though and it has become clear over the past several weeks that one Celtic player needs to be dropped from the starting XI.

That player is none other than Reo Hatate, who has seemed completely off the pace for months now but continues to start one game after the other.

Hatate needs to be dropped from the Celtic starting XI

When Hatate first arrived at Celtic, he looked like a breath of fresh air and hardly put a foot wrong. That was capped off by one of the best Glasgow Derby debuts of all-time as he scored a brilliant brace and provided an assist in the club’s 3-0 win over the Rangers back in February.

His form has worn off since then though and at the moment, he looks tired and completely off the pace. That is understandable though, as he played a full season in Japan before arriving at Celtic. And this is his first season in Europe as well, and it is expected to take him some time to adjust to the intensity of the Scottish game.

We have already seen how good Hatate is at his best and he has a long-term future at Parkhead. But at the moment, with Nir Bitton back, it might be best to leave him on the bench till the end of the season. These underwhelming performances, one after the other, are not doing his confidence any good.