Maik Nawrocki emerged from Celtic wreckage with some pride but there is a real harsh reality to Rangers SOS

Maik Nawrocki didn’t get a victory to savour on his shock Celtic return.

But the Polish defender may have given himself a chance to win a long-term reprieve.

Or, at the very least, ensured his club are going to get their £4million outlay back if he heads out of the door in the summer.

Celtic positives from their loss to Rangers last weekend were hard to find.

And, while it’s difficult to commend defenders who are part of a backline which shipped another three goals in a disjointed display full of mishaps and mistakes, the Polish defender was the one who emerged from the wreckage with some pride intact.

Nawrocki was so far out of the picture that many supporters had forgotten he was still around until Sunday’s teamsheet dropped.

Five minutes against Falkirk in a Premier Sports Cup tie. Just 18 minutes against Raith Rovers in a Scottish Cup tie. Hardly the ideal preparation for an Old Firm game.

Yet he delivered strongly enough for Record Sport’sChris Sutton to say: “Nawrocki, for coming in, 23 minutes all season, I thought he had an outstanding game.”

Nawrocki had been there before. Thrust straight from a four-month injury absence into the side from the bench after Stephen Welsh sustained an injury against Rangers in the New Year game of last season with Cameron Carter-Vickers also injured and absent, he proved he could cope with the situation when holding the fort alongside Liam Scales as his team grabbed a pivotal 2-1 win the title race.

It was a similar scenario at the weekend. He hadn’t started a game since the final Premiership day of last term’s dead-rubber against St Mirren. Too much time on the injured list made him unreliable for the manager in the first season and called for the signing of Auston Trusty.

Nawrock