Having been a key part of Celtic’s backline early on in his career at the club – he made 25 appearances in the Scottish Premiership in the 2016/2017 campaign – Jozo Simunovic has seen his influence slowly dwindle.
Last year saw him make 30 appearances across all competitions, but only 13 of those came in the league. And this campaign has seen his game-time become even more limited, with his knee surgery restricting him to just two games in Scottish football’s top-flight.
Watch Celtic Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
Against Ross County on Saturday afternoon, Simunovic was given a chance to stake his claim, and although he was part of a defence that kept a clean sheet in a fairly routine 3-0 victory, he did come under criticism from sections of the Celtic support.
A couple of fans were particularly critical of his positioning, with one supporter claiming that Simunovic and teammate Jonny Hayes were “like schoolboys at times”.
One fan in particular even suggested that Simunovic’s performance showed why they “badly need another central defender”.
With the likes of Christopher Jullien and Kristoffer Ajer providing stiff competition in that centre-back role, it would be perhaps unsurprising if Simunovic didn’t get too much of a look-in over the second-half of this season.
Only real Celtic fans will get 100% on the Ultimate Hoops quiz. Test your knowledge below…
Of course, rotation and circumstances might see the 25-year-old feature a bit more regularly, but with Rangers putting up a stern fight in the race for the Scottish Premiership title, Neil Lennon will no doubt want to stick to his strongest possible eleven whenever possible.
Meanwhile, Celtic star Scott Brown has delivered a glowing verdict on this player.