Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou sprung what has arguably been the biggest surprise of his short tenure as on Thursday evening, starting what was effectively a B team side in the Europa Conference League tie against Bodo/Glimt.
Indeed, the 56-year-old opted to go with the likes of Stephen Welsh, Liam Scales, Nir Bitton and James Forrest from the off, while regular first-teamers Cameron Carter-Vickers, Josip Juranovic, Callum McGregor, Reo Hatate, Jota and Liel Abada all had to make do with a spot on the bench – a move that was seemingly the Greek-Australian manager throwing the towel in after a heavy 3-1 defeat in the first leg of the tie.
Subsequently – although perhaps expected, considering the lineup – the Bhoys rather unceremoniously bowed out of Europe in the shape of a 2-0 defeat to their Norwegian opponents, with the fixture ending 5-1 on aggregate – although, in truth, Celtic were fortunate this did not turn into a cricket score.
Indeed, a number of the Hoops players failed to cover themselves in any glory whatsoever on Thursday night, with stand-in left-back Scales, as well as central midfield duo Matt O’Riley and Tom Rogic, all having a game they will be hoping to put behind them as quickly as possible.
However, following an equally disappointing performance in the first leg, it will undoubtedly be the latter of this trio most gutted with his display last night, as the Australia international very much looked to be out of his depth against the Norwegian minnows.
Rogic’s Celtic shocker
Indeed, over the course of his 45 minutes on the pitch, the £1.35m-rated midfielder enjoyed just 30 touches of the ball – the third-lowest of any Celtic starter – completed a mere 12 of his 19 attempted passes – the second-lowest of any Celtic starter – and ceded possession of the ball on 12 separate occasions.
The £15k-per-week Aussie also struggled in a defensive capacity, losing four of his six duels, committing one foul and being beaten by an opponent once.
These returns saw the 29-year-old earn an extremely disappointing SofaScore match rating of just 6.3, ranking him as the joint third-worst player to feature in the match, while The Athletic’s Celtic correspondent, Kieran Devlin, also appeared far from impressed with Rogic’s display.
Indeed, before the fixture, the journalist stated of Rogic: “I’m not convinced he’s cut out for games this high-intensity and fast-paced.”
Then, shortly after the 51-time capped international’s display, Devlin added: “Rogic really poor tonight too… Severe lack of quality and composure across the entire pitch.”
Indeed, while Postecoglou made it abundantly clear that he is prioritising the Premiership title race with his team selection, should Rogic and his teammates turn in a display similar to that of last night’s against Hibernian this weekend, the Bhoys boss could easily be made to look even more foolish than the 29-year-old did for once again starting the midfielder against Bodo/Glimt.
In other news: Postecoglou could unearth Celtic’s next Dembele by unleashing 17 y/o “wonderkid”