Whenever the next Celtic manager is appointed, he can watch clips of today’s game and be comforted by the performance of Stephen Welsh.
Welsh made his derby debut back in October in a 2-0 home loss to Rangers. It was an abysmal performance by his team-mates on the day, even if he didn’t disgrace himself.
He missed out the 1-0 loss at Ibrox back in January too as he was only given a spot on the bench. But today, up against Alfredo Morelos and latterly Kemar Roofe, Welsh shone against his rivals.
The Lennoxtown graduate was up against it today. His recent run in the Celtic team had been impressive on an individual note, but this was his acid test.
Nothing fazed him despite the enormity of the challenge. His distribution out from the back was impressive with a total of 70 passes with a 90% accuracy rate. This was better than fellow centre-back Kris Ajer, who managed 20 passes less [WhoScored].
Stephen Welsh steps up as Celtic find their next big talent
In addition to that, he often snuffed out Rangers’ only route to joy this afternoon. Outside of the equaliser, the Ibrox side saw the vast majority of their crosses either headed away by Welsh or booted out the pitch by the youngster.
In the physical battle with Morelos, he often ensured he got to the ball ahead of the Colombian. His power was difficult to shake for the Rangers forwards, whilst his positioning ensured he was never caught out.
Not once today did Welsh struggle with a pass, stumble on the ball, or fail to perform anything that was routine. He was tidy, composed, and didn’t let the occasion get to him. You could see he relished the challenge, with his growth compared to October clearly on show.
It’s a massive boost for the new boss. Celtic look likely to sell Kris Ajer whilst Shane Duffy will head back to Brighton after his loan spell ends. Chris Jullien is injured for the foreseeable future too, leaving us with a big centre-back shortage.
Welsh passing this acid test this afternoon proves that he’s ready to continue his progression in the Celtic first-team. He’s shown that this is a Lennoxtown who deserves more exposure, and will continue to get that between now and the end of the season.
Even if the rest of the Celtic squad are disappointed with this afternoon’s result, Welsh can be proud of how he stood up to the task.
In other news, we look at the Kennedy decision that proves he should be nowhere near the Celtic job.
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
