Sep 13, 2026 9:10 PM
The Celtic player has been slammed for his performance against the Rangers at Ibrox.
Not much went right for Celtic at Ibrox. Even the most optimistic of Rangers fans would not have been expecting a 3-0 win after the poor start to the campaign Derek McInnes' side had made.
Unfortunately for Celtic, this was not another bad day at the office. Instead, it was almost a replica of what had gone so wrong against LASK in the second leg away from home.
Martin O'Neill deserves his fair share of the blame for the result for sure. He has a lot to think about. The League Cup is gone, and the result came at the worst possible time.
Celtic will kick off their Europa League campaign in midweek against Ferencvaros before returning to Parkhead to face the Rangers again, this time in Premiership competition.
Celtic player slammed for his performance against Rangers
Coming into this matchup, there was a lot of discussion about whether Kasper Hogh would start or not. Many suggested that he should be left on the bench in favour of Camilo Duran as the number 9.
Martin O'Neill decided to go with Hogh as his leading striker though, while Duran was moved to the right. And it is a decision that did not pay off.
Hogh, in particular, has received a ton of criticism for his display. Tam McManus has said that he "didn’t fancy the physical side at all v Fernandez plus his hold up play was dreadful."
Most Celtic fans have felt along those lines as well, and starting with Hogh as the central figure up top is a decision that O'Neill got wrong.
Is it time to drop Hogh?
Hogh has scored in only one game so far in Celtic colours since his club-record move in the summer, albeit it was a hattrick.
Duran, on the other hand, has been much more consistent with his output as a striker and it might be time for him to be considered the club's main centre-forward.
On the right, they have a very good option in Haissem Hassan. The Egyptian winger has looked excellent when it comes to his on-the-ball play but needs to improve his output.
Overall, a combination of Duran in the centre and Hassan on the right feels a lot better than the former out wide and Hogh in the centre.
Now, it remains to be seen if O'Neill ends up making that adjustment or the Northern Irish manager sticks with Hogh, whom the club paid a record fee for just months ago. They have two big games ahead and that decision needs to be swift.
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