Celtic manager Neil Lennon has confirmed that Scott Bain is surprisingly still out injured.
The former Dundee shot-stopper hasn’t been seen since he injured himself in the 4-3 Champions League defeat to Cluj. Bain had a horrible night against the Romanian side, and suffered a nasty thumb injury.
Bain was only supposed to be out for a week with his dislocation (BBC). But it’s now been over six weeks since we last saw him in a matchday squad.
Manny just assumed he wasn’t being picked in favour of Fraser Forster and Craig Gordon respectively. However, as Lennon spoke about the current goalkeeper situation via Celtic TV, he confirmed Bain was still out.
“Craig will play tomorrow, so he’s starting. He hasn’t done a lot wrong, and I think it’s important that he gets games. I think it’s important that we keep him motivated.
“I’ve got two superb goalkeepers – Bainy’s still out by the way.
“At the minute – two superb goalkeepers. If anything were to happen to Fraser and Craig’s undercooked, that would be remiss of me. Not only does he need to play but he deserves to play.”
Bain vs Gordon for the number two spot?
So as it stands there could still be a legitimate battle on for the number two spot. It’s not just a case of Bain not being liked by Lennon, but because he’s still sidelined.
Therefore, we’ve yet to really see who Lennon truly favours in the battle to be his number two. Considering Fraser Forster’s start to life at Celtic, that’s as good as it’s going to get for Bain.
What doesn’t work in his favour is the fact that there was a clamour for Gordon to get the gloves again after Bain’s Cluj performance. He didn’t inspire confidence in the support. Even the backline looks a lot more solid with Forster in the nets.
Bain could have a hard time of it trying to make an impression once again. It would’ve been interesting to see how Lennon would’ve handled him had he been fit for the last six weeks.
But his run in the side would appear to be over permanently. We have two better goalkeepers ahead of the Scotland international, and he’ll do well to knock them off their perches.
At least, however, it’s clarity on just where Bain is at at this current moment in time.
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