Ange Postecoglou was enduring a nightmare start to life at Celtic but the Hoops’ win in midweek will have been revitalising.
The Bhoys have already been knocked out of Europe’s premier competition but the Parkhead side bounced back in perfect fashion just a few days ago.
On the chalkboard
Buoyed by the signing of Joe Hart, Celtic travelled to the Czech Republic last week with renewed confidence.
Postecoglou was brave with his team selection again and in dropping Odsonne Edouard to the bench, the Australian showed he wasn’t scared of making the big calls.
Kyogo Furuhashi, James Forrest and Liel Abada all linked up superbly well against Jablonec, eventually running out 4-2 winners.
However, one man who disappointed and has been poor so far this season is David Turnbull.
The Scot was excellent in his debut campaign at Paradise, scoring ten goals on his way to being crowned the club’s Player of the Season.
Though, in the early stages of 2021/22, he’s yet to contribute to a single goal and looks off the pace in offensive situations.
The solution
As a result, Postecoglou should look at bringing Ryan Christie back into the starting XI ahead of Turnbull.
His contract is set to expire in January and with fresh terms yet to be agreed, a move elsewhere looked to be on the table.
It was inevitable that he’d be one of the faces to leave Glasgow behind this summer but his form since the Aussie took charge has been first class.
It marks a significant revival in Christie’s career after he was branded a “laughing stock” by Frank McAvennie for his performances last term.
He played out of position on the wing with James Forrest out injured but scored 13 fewer goals last term than he’d managed in 2019/20.
Yet, despite the mass criticism he received, the £12k-per-week earner has bounced back in tremendous fashion. Christie starred against Midtjylland in the Champions League, completing four dribbles and registering a further four key passes in the first leg.
He then popped up with a vital fourth goal from the bench against Jablonec in midweek.
The Scotland international raced into the area, got across his marker and then planted an excellent header beyond the goalkeeper.
Christie’s energy was unrelenting when he came on and Celtic could do with that type of performance when they face Dundee on Sunday afternoon.
They have won their first European game under Postecoglou; now they must find their debut win in domestic competition.
AND in other news, Celtic eye swoop for £60k-p/w beast who’s “different class”, he’s an upgrade on Bitton…