3 faltering Celtic players who could blossom under new management

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It’s fair to say that Celtic have needed new management for more than one reason this year.

Neil Lennon didn’t manage to get anywhere the best out of this group of players. It showed in both the performances and the results, with the Hoops losing their grip on their domestic dominance.

But next season things are going to be different. Celtic Park will undoubtedly glisten from the beam of positivity that gets thrust upon it when our new manager is appointed. It’s going to be a period of fresh starts and new hope.

Whilst there are likely many you can mention. Here, we take a look at three Celtic players who could benefit most from new management in the coming months:

1. Vasilis Barkas

Some just don’t rate shot-stopper Vasilis Barkas. That’s fair enough. For splashing out a reported £4.5million to sign him from AEK Athens, we all expected more [Scottish Sun].

However, Lennon’s lack of faith in him in the second half of the season was disappointing. Sure, he didn’t impress in his first four months as our number one. Routine efforts were flying past him and nerves clearly played their part. Initially, taking him out of the team looked a wise decision as he got used to Scottish football.

But Barkas was then only thrown back into the team for three matches. He kept a clean sheet against Dundee United and was then beaten once against Rangers by his own man in Callum McGregor. He followed that up by being horribly exposed by dreadful defensive tactics from cross-balls at Livingston.

All of a sudden, he wasn’t seen again. Barkas, you have to imagine, is now well settled into life in Scotland. He’s a big investment of the club, and he’s now had nine months to get used to the football. Being out of the side for the full duration of the second half of the season was a poor decision from the previous regime.

Come the summer, any new manager will be looking for him to impress. Given the outlay, he’ll be expected to show why he was brought from Athens to Parkhead. The fact he even has that opportunity proves that new management could be beneficial to him most of all.

2. Marian Shved

You can’t not get frustrated when you hear Marian Shved’s name being mentioned. He could be absolutely flying at Celtic Park just now and being talked about as our next big-money departure.

Instead, he’s out on loan and trying to scrape together whatever senior minutes he can in Belgium with KV Mechelen. The latest on that comes from reports in Belgium stating that he would be open to an extended stay [Voetbalkrant].

For Shved has turned his career around. Last season, Lennon stated that Shved was struggling with the language and that he wasn’t reaching the level others were in training [Daily Record]. After several months with Mechelen, he was then slammed by his manager Wouter Vrancken for his attitude in training [Scottish Sun].

Now he’s turned things around. He’s playing regularly for the first time since he joined Celtic from Karpaty Lviv. He’s featured in the last 12 matches he’s been made available for, and all of a sudden he’s flying with confidence.

That’s not something that you could say has been the case since he signed. And with a new manager coming in at Parkhead next season, Shved has a huge opportunity to hit the reset button. It remains to be seen whether he takes his big opportunity.

3. Albian Ajeti

There is absolutely no reason for Albian Ajeti not to be a hit at Celtic.

The Swiss centre-forward arrived with decent European pedigree. 43 goals in 96 appearances for Basel. 14 in 39 for St Gallen. 11 caps for the Swiss national team [Transfermarkt]. Indeed, Ajeti has proven himself on the continent before his move to West Ham reaped no reward.

He arrived looking to show that level of consistency. Five goals in five Premiership starts made this look like an on-the-money signing. Then, out of nowhere, a rapid decline in performance levels, fitness, and sheet attitude appeared to cost Albian.

His last goal for the club came back on February 2nd, but he now hasn’t featured in four of our last five matches. He was omitted from the squad to face Rangers too, with interim manager John Kennedy confirming it was purely tactical [Glasgow Times].

Ajeti has opened up in the past regarding the hard work he needs to put in to get back to full fitness. But he’s been given several runs in the team this season and not taken any of them. It doesn’t help, however, when the service is poor and you’re not getting much from the players in-behind new.

A new manager will hopefully spark Ajeti into action once again. At £5million [Sky Sports], he’s another of Celtic’s big-money signings. Nobody at Parkhead will want this deal to flop, and a new boss will surely be looking to work with Albian to see why he’s performed so poorly this season.

In other news, a report has stated that Aberdeen are said to be interested in Celtic striker Leigh Griffiths.