Ange Postecoglou reveals Nir Bitton's brilliant unseen role at Celtic this season

By John McGinley

May 14, 2022

Celtic manager Ange Postecoglou has paid tribute to the way Nir Bitton has helped shape the dressing room this season and for his role in developing Liel Abada.

It’s long been known that Bitton has been an influential figure at Celtic, however, his experience and status at the club were especially important this season.

With a whole new team of players arriving and the club bouncing back from last season’s disappointment, Postecoglou needed leaders to help kickstart the new era.

Bitton was crucial to Celtic title win

While Bitton may have not been a regular starter, he was apparently still a vital figure for Postecoglou.

The Celtic boss paid tribute to his unseen role this weekend, telling The Scottish Daily Mail [14/05 print edition, page 127]: “With Nir, I needed experienced players as it was a young group. On and off the field, he’s really helped Callum and sort of shaped the dressing room.

“His influence, particularly on Liel Abada, has been unbelievable. Liel’s a 19-year-old who we brought in as a sort of development project. Look at the season he’s had. A huge chunk of that is because of Nir’s influence on him.”

It’s time for new leaders at Celtic

With Bitton and Tom Rogic leaving, new leaders now need to step up in this dressing room and build on the experiences and success of this term.

We have Callum McGregor and Joe Hart of course. But I’m sensing figures such as Josip Juranovic, Greg Taylor and Giorgos Giakoumakis will be new figureheads at Lennoxtown, helping transition away from the glories of the past and achieve new ones.

Bitton and Rogic deserve a rousing send-off today and then we can look ahead to the future with excitement and hope.

In other news, Celtic striker Giorgos Giakoumakis shows up whining rivals with new comments.