Peter Grant says Reo Hatate is doing something at Celtic right now he has never seen him do before

Reo Hatate has been coming under fire this season.

Not just from the punters, but also from the pundits, as Celtic’s sluggish start to the season continued over the weekend against Hibernian.

Yes, Celtic are unbeaten on the domestic stage, but that was another goalless draw from the champions of Scotland, after those drab performances against Kairat Almaty in the Champions League qualifiers.

Hatate has played the majority of those matches, including away in Belgrade last week, as Brendan Rodgers’ side drew 1-1 against Red Star.

But Peter Grant doesn’t like what he is seeing from the all-action Japanese midfielder.

READ MORE: Who is Reo Hatate? Get to know Celtic’s £10m rated Japanese midfield maestro

Reo Hatate is passing ‘backwards’ more than ever before at Celtic

On his day, nobody in the Celtic team can probably come close to what Hatate brings to the table, and Grant shared, ‘I am a big supporter of him.’

But speaking on Go Radio, Grant explained how Hatate is ‘passing the ball backwards’ more than he has ever done in his Celtic career.

The Hoops hero explained why that is the case, as he feels that it isn’t entirely the player’s fault.

Hatate will be returning from a small injury against Braga in the Europa League on Thursday evening, but it’s not yet known if Rodgers will throw him straight into the XI.

But overall, the 27-year-old has played in eight games in all competitions, with one goal to his name, and he is yet to provide an assist.

These are Hatate’s passing stats for the campaign so far, as posted by Sofacore: