Opinion: Could rarely seen international feature for Celtic in big game?

With Nir Bitton still missing for Celtic, James McCarthy has returned to the Hoops squad. He was an unused substitute for the 2-0 win over Ross County at the weekend, and perhaps it was a bit of a surprise that he didn’t replace Reo Hatate, who looked to be struggling at times in the second-half.

It is fair to say that McCarthy, who is one of the most experienced players in the Hoops squad, with 43 Ireland caps, has been a fringe player for much of the season for the Bhoys.

He hasn’t started a game for Celtic since December, and for most of the season has been on the bench, being limited to 21 appearances in the 2021/22 campaign.

However, despite the former Crystal Palace talent’s lack of playing time, it wouldn’t be a shock to see him feature at some stage of Celtic’s next league game, against Rangers on Sunday.

The reason for that is the aforementioned absence of Nir Bitton, who did a great job for the Hoops when he came on in the second-half of Celtic’s win at Ibrox earlier this month.

If Celtic are looking to gain control of the game, then McCarthy has the experience of playing in big games for club and country, and he could be more than useful in the middle of the park.

McCarthy won’t start the game, but the 31-year-old can still have a part to play in the derby, if Bitton misses out again, and if Reo Hatate looks to be struggling which he has done on a few occasions in recent games for the Hoops.

If McCarthy can help the Hoops get the win over Rangers that all but clinches the title, then his first season at Celtic Park would have to be considered a success of sorts even though he has been a squad player for most of the season.

It will be interesting to see what happens to McCarthy in the summer, as his contract at