Charlie Mulgrew has backed Vasilis Barkas to come back and fight for his spot at Celtic next season.
Barkas has had the debut season from hell in Scotland. After signing for £4.5million from AEK Athens [Scottish Sun], it didn’t take him long to lose his spot. Unconvincing shot-stopping and a failure to dominate his penalty area led to Vasilis dropping out for Scott Bain back in October.
He was again thrown in for several games in December and January. However, once again, Bain managed to find his way back into the number one spot with Barkas now a regular on the bench.
In recent times, he’s been linked with a move back home to Greece [Scottish Sun]. Mulgrew, however, thinks there’s a chance he could come good next season. Speaking via the Daily Record, the former Celtic captain is certain Barkas will be back fighting for his spot this summer.
“I wasn’t too concerned when they went for Barkas last summer. They’d taken their time and I knew they’d have done their homework on him.
“But it’s impossible to tell who’s going to work out and who isn’t. You don’t know what’s going to happen. Barkas might come good next season but this certainly wasn’t his year.
“It has obviously been difficult moving to a different country but I’m sure that next season he’ll come back fighting for a place.”
Unfair to judge Vasilis Barkas; Celtic management quickly made him a scapegoat
First off, Barkas hasn’t had a successful season. He didn’t impress in many of his 20 appearances this term. That’s clearly undeniable, and he’ll be frustrated with himself for his poor shot-stopping when he has been given an opportunity.
However, it’s also unfair to judge him after this disastrous campaign. Let’s face it, he’s hardly been at Celtic during an ideal time. Not with the toxic apathy supporters have had for the management and board for most of the season. And that’s not including the fact Neil Lennon chopped and changed his centre-back partnership all too often.
Barkas was thrown to the wolves as a scapegoat back in January too. He came back into the mix and was left exposed against Rangers and Livingston respectively. He didn’t get a fair chance to win his spot back. It’s also worth mentioning that he still has nine clean sheets in his 20 outings this term [Transfermarkt]. He hasn’t been the bumbling wreck he’s been made out to be.
Bain hasn’t proven to be better than Barkas
Can anyone honestly say that Bain has been any better? Had Barkas produced the performances Bain has in recent weeks, he’d be getting slaughtered for them. So quite why Bain has been keeping his place without any punishment for his own poor displays is anyone’s guess.
This summer, the new manager has an incredibly important decision to make. He’ll likely want a new shot-stopper, but someone will have to make way as it isn’t feasible to have four slugging it out. It’s clear that Conor Hazard won’t be going anywhere after signing a new deal this season. Therefore, it’s a toss-up between Barkas and Bain.
Given how the situation looks at the moment, I think most of us would agree that Bain has had enough opportunities to be judged at Parkhead. Barkas, in contrast, still needs another campaign.
In other news, Celtic-linked Josh Doig has discussed his future and sent out an emphatic message.
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