Celtic: Postecoglou must axe Nir Bitton this weekend | OneFootball

Ange Postecoglou’s first season as Celtic manager has been a topsy-turvy state of affairs but he has a wonderful chance of sealing some silverware at the first time of asking this Sunday.

The Hoops take on Hibernian in the Scottish League Cup final but it will not be an easy task.

This is a Bhoys team who have been royally inconsistent at times this term while they’ll also be missing one of their most dangerous players in Jota who is out with a hamstring injury.

On the chalkboard

It will be fascinating to see what type of XI that Postecoglou selects this weekend as he’s used the last few games as somewhat of an experiment.

As Celtic remarkably beat Real Betis over a week ago, the likes of Osaze Urhoghide, Liam Shaw, Liam Scales and Ewan Henderson all earned rare minutes.

Should Bitton start on Sunday?

Nir Bitton was also given a chance to captain the side, capping off a remarkable turnaround in his fortunes since the current manager entered the club.

The 30-year-old was one of the biggest reasons for their exit from the Champions League at the beginning of the season when he was shown a second yellow card in the first half of their first-leg tie with FC Midtjylland.

It was a reckless way to get sent off and in the words of pundit Paul Robinson, it was an “inexcusable” act.

He continued: “A lot of talk has been about Vasilis Barkas’ mistake costing the team but Bitton cost his team as well.

“You cannot excuse something like that. He showed a lot of immaturity. The bottom line is that it is unprofessional.”

1 of 10

Can you guess which Celtic player scored the most goals during the season in question? Let's start with 2010/11...

Gary Hooper Anthony Stokes

It was a savage attack on the Israel international who has also been described as a “walking joke” by Bhoys Analytics in the last year.

It’s safe to say his form has improved since then but in the big moments, Bitton has let Celtic down on a regular basis.

Relying on him in the final this weekend would be a gamble irrespective of his importance to Postecoglou now.

The £14k-per-week earner’s versatility is certainly useful. He played at centre-back vs Betis and then played further forward in midfield against Ross County on Wednesday.

Yet, the Celtic boss must take the decision to cruelly axe him from the team in the League Cup final this weekend.