Ross McCormack has leapt to the defence of one Celtic star after his troubled start to the season.
Celtic beat Partick Thistle 4-0 to advance through to the semi-finals of the Premier Sports Cup – where they will go up against Rangers.
The starting XI largely consisted of first-team regulars as Sebastian Tounekti caught the eye again before Brendan Rodgers made changes in the second 45.
While Tounekti earned a second player of the match in as many appearances for the Hoops, his fellow summer signing Michel-Ange Balikwisha is yet to show his best in a Celtic shirt.
Despite that, McCormack believes that he will come into his own sooner rather than later.
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Ross McCormack reacts to Michel-Ange Balikwisha’s Celtic start
After starting the last two games, Rodgers opted to drop Balikwisha to the bench for the win at Firhill.
He was introduced as a second-half substitute and while watching the game on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard, the former Scotland international urged fans to be patient with the winger.
“The two games he has played, to be fair to him, have been difficult,” said McCormack.
“One was an Old Firm game where he had hardly any training time with the squad. The second was on a plastic pitch at Kilmarnock, so hopefully we can see something.
“What the Celtic fans want to see is him being positive. Even if he gives it away by dribbling, that’s fair enough. Just stay on the ball a bit longer, have a go and see what you can do.”
Michel-Ange Balikwisha is a long-term investment
It was well documented how long Celtic had been interested in signing Balikwisha after several failed attempts to bring the 24-year-old to Parkhead.
The timing of his arrival coincided with the disappointment of the Champions League exit, meaning that the pressure on him to deliver straightaway was enormous.
Having said that, the winger is still settling into a new place and despite costing £5m, is someone that is here for the long haul.
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