Pat Bonner says Celtic cannot afford to take player who ‘oozes’ strength out the team right now

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Pat Bonner believes that Celtic cannot afford to take Cameron Carter-Vickers out of their team right now.

The US international has been a serious miss this season as injury has forced Brendan Rodgers to reshuffle his back four over the past six months.

Carter-Vickers returned to the fold in the 3-1 win over St Johnstone on Saturday and right away the Celtic fans can see just how solid the backline looks with him in it.

And that was hammered home after the 26-year-old was taken off in the second half and Tomoki Iwata was the preferred player to replace him in the heart of the Celtic defence.

Not long after Carter-Vickers was taken off, St Johnstone scored and a debate raged on BBC Sportsound where Bonner believed that the decision to not put Gustaf Lagerbielke on earlier could have prevented the goal and subsequently dented their goal difference.

Carter-Vickers’ defensive strength gives Celtic teammates confidence

With the title so close, goal differentials could come into play at the end of the of the season and Bonner now says that Celtic cannot afford to take the American out of the team.

Bonner said [BBC Radio Scotland], “It wasn’t Iwata that was under the cross and, to be honest, once you to bring out Carter Vickers from that back four, you can almost lose, what would I call it, defensive stability would be the word.

“He just oozes defensive strength and he affects everybody else.”

The Celtic fans can see that whatever player partners Carter-Vickers in the Celtic backline, they look a lot more confident and assured.

Against Motherwell, the pace that the American has was clearly missed as The Steelmen took advantage of one of Scales and Welsh’s main weaknesses.

His ariel prowess is also a key factor in Celtic having a solid defence and that is also another attribute that both backup defenders lack.

Scales only has a 61.9% success rate in winning his aerial duels [Fotbmob], whilst Welsh lags way behind at 55.3%. Carter-Vickers, however, sits at a 72.9% success rate which is one of the highest in the Scottish Premiership.

Bonner is 100% correct, Celtic cannot afford to have Carter-Vickers out the side because what we have in reserve is simply not good enough.