‘Looked the part’… Brendan Rodgers told he must play £6m rated Celtic summer signing vs Motherwell

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Today’s fixture against Motherwell now has a greater meaning for Celtic after Rangers beat Hearts 5-0 at Ibrox yesterday.

The Ibrox club are now five points clear at the top of the table and Brendan Rodgers‘ cannot afford any more slip-ups.

With the goal difference now swung in the way of Rangers, Celtic must now go out and win games and do it convincingly.

Over the past few weeks, we have watched the team struggle to mount any serious attacking threat but there is one player that could do that today against Motherwell and former Celtic striker, Andy Walker, believes he must start in the lunchtime kick-off.

Andy Walker tells Celtic to ‘persevere’ with Paulo Bernardo

Walker was asked if he would start either Bernardo or Tomoki Iwata in the heart of the Celtic midfield at Fir Park and he was unanimous with his verdict.

Walker said [The Go Radio Football Show], “I would persevere with Bernardo. I thought around that Christmas/New Year time when he got the big lift scoring against Rangers.

“He had a goal at St Mirren, he had a goal at Dundee. I think he’s looked the part. Callum McGregor is your captain. He’s your leader.

“And he may have dropped off but I think he can always come good again. O’Riley can come good again. And you need to, I think, persevere with Palma, persevere with Maeda and Kyogo through the middle.

“But I do recognise Celtic have brought in this big, tall, physical striker and they seem to be playing him, it’s just different to watch.”

The 22-year-old has played a big part in Celtic’s last eight domestic fixtures and scored two and created two goals. [Transfermarkt]

However, in the draws against Aberdeen and Kilmarnock and the 2-1 win over Hibs, the £6m rated midfielder has been posted missing.

In recent games against Killie and St Mirren, he has been dropped to the bench as Rodgers experimented (with some degree of success) with playing Adam Idah and Kyogo Furuhashi up top.

But with Idah failing to score for the second game in a row, the Celtic manager may well have a rethink and decide to put the Portuguese on in place of the on-loan Norwich man and put Kyogo back in his preferred striker role.

Whatever Rodgers decides to do it HAS to work because any more dropped points today will make this league title nigh on impossible to win.

In other news, ‘You’re going to be surprised’… Peter Grant picks his shock front-three that Celtic should be using