CELTIC boss Brendan Rodgers believes Nir Bitton is “perfect” for his new role as a central defender.
The 25-year-old midfielder took over from injured stopper Erik Sviatchenko in the first half of Wednesday’s 1-0 win over Rosenborg which set up a Champions League play-off tie with Astana of Kazakhstan.
Bitton started alongside Jozo Simunovic in the Ladbrokes Premiership opener against Hearts at Parkhead on Saturday and helped Celtic stroll to a 4-1 win, where Leigh Griffiths notched twice with Scott Sinclair and Callum McGregor also on the scoresheet.
With Sviatchenko and Dedryck Boyata out until September with knee injuries, the Israel international, who joined Celtic from FC Ashdod in 2013, will continue to be deployed at the back with Rodgers’ confidence.
“You can see he is very comfortable in it,” said the Northern Irishman.
“Firstly he can defend. We haven’t just thrown him in there, he played a lot there in training and in a lot of exercises he has played centre half.
“He is good in the air, he reads the game well as a defender, he is brave and he has the courage to play, he can get on the ball and starts the attacks from behind.
“I thought he was outstanding during the week when he came on and on Saturday if you didn’t know he had played a lot in midfield, you would say he looked like a top centre half.
“I know his first position is centre midfield but I always like a midfielder who can play in that central defensive role.”
Much of the post-match talk was about the criticism Hearts’ interim manager Jon Daly, in charge after head coach Ian Cathro was sacked during the week, handed out to Rodgers for questioning the recruitment policy at Tynecastle.
The Celtic boss had said: “He (Cathro) is trying to play football and you are bringing in players who play a direct game. So it makes me ask about where the players are coming from or if they are his.”
Daly said Rodgers’ comments were “absolutely disgraceful” and “very poor form”.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here