It’s certainly been an eventful week for the Celtic fans. From enjoying the incredible highs of the 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid to the pitiful low of yesterday’s 0-0 draw with Hibs, it’s been a bit of a rollercoaster.
But whilst the reaction to the draw with Atletico was mostly positive, Rodgers’ failure to use Hyeongyu Oh against the La Liga side when Celtic needed a goal has raised some eyebrows in the pundit world.
The latest to offer their opinion is former Celtic defender, Mark Wilson. He believes that Rodgers has sent a message to the South Korean after he was left on the bench in preference to James Forrest.
Asked what it meant for Oh when he was kept on the bench against Atletico, Wilson said [Clyde SSB], “Well, it shows that Brendan Rodgers doesn’t think he’s up to getting Celtic across the line on the big occasion when they need a goal.
“I mean for the boy himself, strikers on the bench must always think they will be the first sub on. Whether the game is going well and you’re 3-0 up a manager often turns to them and throws them on.
“When a game is going not so well and you need a goal, you throw your striker on. So he was the only recognised striker on that bench and Brendan Rodgers doesn’t give him a look.
“It goes to show you a lot I think.”
Is it too early to form a Celtic verdict on Hyeongyu Oh?
Many Celtic supporters will say yes. There are others that have said from the off that he’s not good enough to be a backup to Kyogo never mind the club’s main striker.
Whilst pundits like Pat Bonner also believes that Rodgers has lost faith in Oh, TBR Celtic told midweek how James McFadden explained why the £2.5m man was not used by Rodgers on Wednesday night.
The long and short of it is this. Whilst I agree that Oh has not had sufficient time to show what he can do under Rodgers this season, he did have a full half hour yesterday to try and make an impact. He failed.
The 22-year-old is a full international. He’s highly rated by Jurgen Klinsmann and does have talent. But does he have what it takes to cut it at a club like Celtic?
The jury is still out but a verdict is quickly forming on him.
In other news, Brendan Rodgers not happy that 24-year-old Celtic man kept ‘needlessly’ giving the ball away vs Hibernian