Celtic attacker Oliver Burke can still offer Neil Lennon an alternative

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Oliver Burke’s form at Celtic has been non-existent over the last few weeks.

The Scotland international made his first appearance in almost a month against Aberdeen yesterday. Coming on for the closing stages of the contest, Burke was finally given a sign of confidence from Neil Lennon.

Lennon has only featured Burke six times since becoming interim Celtic manager back in February. Burke has only started three of those games too.

With Scott Sinclair having signed a new deal as well as James Forrest’s form, it was difficult to see where Burke was going to get his opportunity. Odsonne Edouard, meanwhile, is still clearly Lennon’s first-choice up front, as he should be.

But yesterday was a timely reminder that Burke gives Lennon an ideal alternative.

When he came on at Pittodrie, he was unfortunate not to nab a goal. He got into some good areas, and was always searching for the ball down the right. His pace always left the option for a through ball available, and he showed some decent control in tight areas.

He also showed a sensational ability to leap for the ball in the air. Burke showed tremendous height in the jump, and won plenty of flick-ons. He looked a player ready to impress, and didn’t look any worse than Forrest did against the Dons.

Starting XI unlikely

Any chance of getting into the starting XI still looks unlikely. We only have three games remaining this season, with a Glasgow derby and a Scottish Cup final to look forward to in the coming weeks.

But he can still make an impact from the bench, and should still be considered by Lennon if things aren’t going well at Ibrox or at Hampden. Burke still has electric pace, and is the quickest in the Celtic squad.

Added to that, he looks fresh and ready to make an impression. Not many would be more up for putting in a starring role in the coming weeks than Burke, who will surely have one eye on the summer transfer window.

West Brom signed him for £15million. Regardless of whether you think he’s worth that or not, he’s massively raw potential.

Bringing him on against tired legs is a useful weapon for Celtic. Sure, there is much to his technique that can be improved. But he has it in him to hurt teams in Scotland through his pace alone.

Hopefully, he gets the chance to show it if we need him in the coming weeks. On Saturday he proved in his short cameo that he’s an effective outlet to come off the bench if necessary.