Celtic duo Vakoun Issouf Bayo and Marian Shved deserve a chance

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Celtic’s Dunfermline team-sheet perhaps disappointed supporters when they noticed two choices in particular.

Both Vakoun Issouf Bayo and Marian Shved remained on the bench as the likes of Odsonne Edouard and Ryan Christie continued to play.

Now, nobody is denying that Eddy and Christie are the first-choice pair when it comes to the quartet. However, yesterday should’ve been a game for Neil to freshen things up. He said it himself post-match when he said the players were a bit leggy.

Surely, then, it was the right time to call on two players who are clearly match-fit and ready to play. Apparently not, as both men sat out of the contest altogether. They stayed as unused substitutes as the Hoops failed to put away Dunfermline.

And you now have to wonder just when we’re going to actually see the duo take part. Remember, Shved was one of the top goalscorers in Ukraine before leaving for Glasgow. Bayo, meanwhile, has only had two cameo appearances for the club since signing in January.

And when you look at Celtic’s fixture schedule, just where does the duo fit in? Celtic are at home to Hearts after Thursday night’s Europa League tie against AIK Stockholm. Would you honestly expect either to feature in those two games?

Then we have the return leg of the Europa play-off in Sweden followed by a trip to Ibrox. Once again, just where do you see any game-time for Shved and Bayo?

Both men must’ve been extremely disappointed on Saturday. Playing lower-league opposition in the cup should’ve allowed Lennon to give a couple of his top stars a rest. Instead, we only managed to see a tired display from those who did feature.

These are two players who have something to offer Celtic. Their past shows you that. Bayo’s positive pre-season (pre-injury) proved he can offer a physical threat up top. Shved’s reputation in Ukraine, meanwhile, speaks for itself.

Celtic have been fortunate in that we’ve been given another home draw, this time against Partick Thistle in the quarter-finals of the Betfred Cup in late September. As it stands, that looks as good a game as any for us to see them in action.

But Lenny’s team-selection yesterday even throws that into so much doubt. As it stands, there look to be no further opportunities on the radar for either man unless the manager throws up a surprise.