The signs are pretty clear with Reo Hatate at Celtic and Martin O’Neill needs to act

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Martin O’Neill now has some much-needed squad depth as Celtic push for a domestic double and success in the Europa League.

The January transfer window was crucial for Celtic to enhance the squad, especially the forward line, but that doesn’t mean the proven performers aren’t going to be as important as the new faces in the squad.

You suspect one of them would include Celtic’s maverick Reo Hatate, who hasn’t looked himself this season, as the Hoops have declined on the pitch.

But the signs are pretty clear with Hatate, and O’Neill needs to be brave by using the lost star as little as possible in the coming months.

• READ MORE: Celtic squad update on Kieran Tierney and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain from Martin O’Neill

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Martin O’Neill can’t trust Reo Hatate during Celtic’s relentless schedule

One thing is for sure: Hatate doesn’t make Celtic’s strongest XI. He was woeful over the weekend during Celtic’s Scottish Cup win over Dundee, but that’s not the first time this has happened.

There has been a lot of talk around Hatate’s future, and he has looked lost for over 12 months now.

Even the most ardent of Celtic supporters, who have loved and backed the Japan star since his arrival in 2022, will agree that he will probably be gone in the summer.

But the issue here is that Celtic aren’t playing great football. Every win seems to be a grind, so they can’t carry any passengers in their push to win trophies this term.

Unfortunately, as the games become more and more important, from the Europa League to the Premiership, Hatate is somebody who can’t be trusted in the middle of the park, so he needs to be used as little as possible.

• Hatate’s WhoScored rating in the Premiership this season: 6.55
• Europa League: 6.34
• Champions League qualifiers: 6.49
• Goals scored: 5
• Assists: 3
• Man of the Match awards: 0

That might sound crazy for a player who has done so much in Glasgow, but the depth is now there in midfield: Callum McGregor, Arne Engels, Benjamin Nygren, Luke McCowan, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Paulo Bernardo.

So, if Hatate makes very few starts in the next couple of months, it wouldn’t be a bad idea to give those minutes to Bernardo, McCowan, and Oxlade-Chamberlain instead, and see if they can help O’Neill win the domestic double, or at least, the Premiership title.