The Celtic reality that now faces Scott Bain after last night

By David Walton

June 22, 2022

The arrival of Ben Siegrist was a positive for absolutely everyone at Celtic last night, but it also sends a real warning to Scott Bain.

At face value, Celtic already had enough options heading into the new season in their goalkeeping ranks. Joe Hart was backed up by Bain whilst we had a youngster in Tobi Oluwayemi as third choice. It looked like a decent enough set-up numbers-wise.

Yet the one question that hasn’t been asked by many since the signing of Siegrist is why Ange Postecoglou felt the need to bring another goalkeeper to Celtic Park. Sure, you can say because Vasilis Barkas left on loan that we needed a replacement. But the truth is his position in the squad wasn’t one that was desperately needing filled. He was barely involved in matchday squads last season.

The brutal reality of this deal for Siegrist comes down to the fact that Ange simply isn’t comfortable with the back-up options at his disposal. Oluwayemi has much to learn before he can be thrown into the Celtic goalkeeping position. Bain, however, is at a time in his career where you would expect him to make a reliable impression on the manager.

But that simply hasn’t been the case. Bain was actually only given 4 appearances last season with 2 coming before Hart had even arrived [Transfermarkt]. Had Ange been more comfortable in giving the former Dundee and Hibs man minutes then you can guarantee he would’ve had a stronger run in the team.

Put it this way, Siegrist won’t end the season having only played 4 times for the Hoops. He’ll likely go into double-figures, and that’s because he’s a stronger option than Scott and can therefore be trusted with more difficult challenges.

Scott Bain needs to find new levels to stay relevant at Celtic

Bain was of course given runs as the number one by both Brendan Rodgers and Neil Lennon respectively. The former being the one who brought him in back in 2018. But neither run was particular impressive and he would eventually find himself displaced on both occasions.

Now he finds himself in a hugely challenging position in the Celtic dressing room. Siegrist is now the number 2 in back-up to Hart. That leaves Bain currently in a position where getting minutes next season is going to be next to impossible.

Not that this is necessarily a first for the Scotland international. Bain was part of a goalkeeping team that had both Fraser Forster and Craig Gordon in it a couple of years ago. He still managed to show his worth and keep a place in the squad regardless.

He’ll now have to do the same again. The reason being because Celtic have only brought a goalkeeper in because Ange isn’t comfortable with the back-up actions. That’s the real truth, and one that Bain needs to accept and use as motivation heading into pre-season.

Everyone will be given a chance to prove themselves all over again when the players arrive from their summer break next Monday. Bain should be one of the most determined to prove a point.

We’ll see how he reacts to last night’s news in the long-run, but a big message has been sent out here.

In other news, Ben Siegrist explains what he wants to do next season after signing for Celtic