Tom Rogic looks some distance from Celtic starting line-up

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It is noticeable that in recent games, Celtic have played either Ryan Christie or Olivier Ntcham in the central midfield role.

Christie has made the position his own for much of this season, scoring plenty of goals in the bargain. In recent weeks Neil Lennon has played Ntcham in the position, and he looks set to keep the player in the starting line-up for at least one more game until the winter break.

With so many central midfielders in the squad, players have been missing out on the starting 11. One such player is Tom Rogic.

Rogic has become a firm fan favourite of the Celtic support over the years thanks to scoring some incredibly important goals – the goal which clinched the invincible treble, for example, and a number of goals against Rangers.

At one time an automatic starter in derby

With Celtic preparing to face Rangers on Sunday, not that long ago Rogic would have been one of the first names on the team-sheet to take on the Ibrox side. That does not seem to be the case at the moment though.

He seems to be a bit of a distance away from the starting line-up. Injuries and the form of Christie and Ntcham have seen to that.

Could still have impact from bench

That does not mean that Rogic cannot still contribute to the team. He could be the ideal impact substitution, if the situation called for it. Could that game be the derby against Rangers? That remains to be seen.

So good has Rogic’s record been against Rangers in the past that he has to be under consideration to feature at some stage of the game. At the moment though, he does seem to be a distance away from the starting line-up.

Rogic is too talented to not be included in the Hoops squad when he is fit. Unless something changes in the second-half of the season, Rogic may need to be content being a squad player in the quest to nine in a row.