Celtic forward Oliver Burke was given his first start in nearly a month against St Mirren last night, but failed to impress.
The on-loan West Bromwich Albion winger once again played up top. We spoke last night about how Neil Lennon must now finally understand that isn’t his natural position. Yet, despite that, it’s the only position the Celtic management team has been playing him in.
Burke’s first-touch left a lot to be desired last night, and he failed to control the ball on several key occasions. His display was summed up by a first-half mis-hit in front of goal too. Burke had the goal at his mercy as he controlled inside the box, but somehow contrived to slash it well wide.
Overall, supporters certainly weren’t impressed last night. Giving their reaction on Twitter, here’s a look at the core feeling last night towards Burke.
https://twitter.com/DominicOliver82/status/1113520131085406209
Not a good individual night at the office
Three points and still 13 clear of Rangers in second place means that it was a successful night in the end for Celtic. But, in saying that, it certainly wasn’t an impressive outing from Burke.
It’s good to see some supporters mentioning the fact he’s clearly a winger. This has to be something Lennon tries out before he stops giving him more opportunities.
But Burke is now on the outside looking in at the Hoops first-team. It’s down to him to now start putting in eye-catching performances, and last night most certainly wasn’t one.
It would be interesting to see how West Brom feel about Celtic’s insistence on playing him up top too. It’s not the position WBA had been featuring him in, and it just continues to look all new to the Scotland international.
There’s still plenty of time to make an impact before the season ends. Despite that, Burke has now dropped out of the starting XI, and doesn’t have that same love he did from the fans after his first few weeks playing for the Hoops.
This is the first time in Burke’s Celtic stint that he’s facing some adversity. Let’s see how he reacts to it.
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