Struggling Celtic player sends message by scoring hattrick

The international break is underway and Celtic took the opportunity to give a runout to those who have stayed behind in Glasgow. The club arranged a mid-season friendly against Sligo Rovers and as expected, Brendan Rodgers named a very different-looking team to one you would expect on matchdays.

A lot of eyes would have been on Luis Palma. The Honduran winger's future at Celtic has been a topic of heavy discussion recently as he has struggled for playing time.

Palma looked impressive in pre-season but is clearly behind the likes of Nicolas Kuhn, Daizen Maeda, James Forrest and perhaps even Yang Hyun-jun, in the pecking order right now. But the Honduran sent a clear message to Rodgers with his performance against Sligo Rovers.

Celtic won 3-2 against Sligo Rovers with Palma scoring all three goals for the Hoops. Thus, he would have made his case to Rodgers for more playing time after the international break.

Struggling Celtic player sends message by scoring hattrick

Palma's ability in front of goal has never been in doubt. What has caused him to lose his place in the team though is his lack of consistency and the question marks over his overall game.

If he Palma can improve in those two aspects, he is definitely good enough to be challenging for a spot in the Celtic starting XI. He certainly would not have done his chances any harm by scoring a statement hattrick against Sligo Rovers.

The Honduran international seems to be taking some positive steps off the pitch to bring his Celtic career back on track as well. He has decided to stay away from both social media and what the press is saying about him or his future. It is also believed that he decided to stay back during this break to help his chances to get back into Rodgers' plans.