“A complete disconnect”; Michael Stewart absolutely baffled by Celtic situation

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Michael Stewart has been left baffled by the goalkeeping situation at Celtic this season.

Vasilis Barkas arrived as a big-money signing in the summer transfer window but after an initial spell in the Celtic team has barely been used.

He looks out of favour with manager Neil Lennon, who once again criticised the Greek international earlier today.

Just weeks ago, the manager actually said the Bhoys were progressing with Barkas at number one.

Yet, against Hamilton Accies midweek, he was unceremoniously dropped for Scott Bain.

Stewart reckons it’s indicative of a wider recruitment problem at Celtic.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland before today’s Celtic match (14:31), the pundit said: “Barkas has not covered himself in glory by any stretch of the imagination, but the continual chopping and changing is what staggers me. For him to be dropped against Hamilton at home, it continues to add fuel to the fire in the terms of what’s happening with the goalkeeping position.

“Psychologically, Barkas has had a really tough season here. Everything Neil Lennon has said about Barkas I agree with. But it goes back to the bigger problems that are surrounding Celtic – who recruited him and at what point was the manager involved?

“This, to me, strikes at the heart of where there has a complete disconnect between the departments at Celtic.”

Bain was far from convincing between the sticks against St Mirren today and, in fact, has a much worse record compared to the Barkas this season.

He’s conceded more goals, having played fewer games, and kept far fewer clean sheets.

Barkas may not be the long-term solution for Celtic either but he at least deserves time to make his case. We’ve invested too much in him to write him off already.

If we had a better, more viable option then it’d be a different story, but Bain isn’t it. Conor Hazard clearly isn’t favoured either.

Lennon’s handling of this situation is just one of many reasons why he can’t continue in the Celtic dugout.

In other news, the manager abdicated responsibility for today’s result on Radio Scotland tonight.