Marian Shved has had a frustrating first few games in a Celtic shirt. The 21-year-old has played the majority of his new club’s two most recent friendlies – against Wiener and St. Gallen – but had little success.
The winger doesn’t look like he’s quite up to speed with his surroundings yet and that may give Neil Lennon some anxiety ahead of Celtic’s trip to Bosnia next week.
Lennon takes his side to face FK Sarajevo in the first round of Champions League qualification on Tuesday night, and Shved isn’t exactly firing on all cylinders.
Shved should be “rested” for Sarajevo clash
Of course, it’s far too early to judge the Ukrainian as a success or failure – but professional football is tough and he doesn’t look ready to start in such a high pressure game.
Lennon opted to play Shved on the right-hand-side in the St. Gallen clash, with James Forrest moved into a central role. If he feels the Ukrainian isn’t ready, he could move Forrest back to the right and play Ryan Christie in behind the striker.
Celtic don’t want to scare Shved off by playing him in such a big game when he’s clearly not up to speed yet. The fans are expecting such big things of him following his recent form while playing for Karpaty Lviv. Perhaps it’s time for Lennon to take their expectations down a peg or two.
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