Celtic defender Greg Taylor showed Neil Lennon a different side to his game this week.
Taylor joined the club from Kilmarnock last summer but so far has had to remain very patient for opportunities to impress his manager in match action.
Prior to last night’s Scottish Premiership win, he had started just five times with Lennon often opting to use Boli Bolingoli or Jonny Hayes ahead of him.
After an impressive left flank display at McDiarmid Park though he’s surely in line to feature more.
Lennon singled him out for praise, sharing a moment from the build-up to the encounter that helped convince the manager to hand him a start.
After his side’s 3-0 win, the Celtic boss told The Daily Record: “That was his best performance for me. He can be delighted with it.
“We were working on him a little bit yesterday, and he put three or four superb crosses in, which I hadn’t seen before.
“We worked with him yesterday on that. He’s a willing learner and I thought his all-round game was very good.
“There were some outstanding individual performances but I couldn’t speak highly enough about the team as a whole.”
That spot from Lennon and his coaches was certainly a good one.
Taylor’s crossing in the match against St Johnstone was one of his team’s key threats in the first half.
One expertly delivered ball was met by an onrushing Leigh Griffiths to put the Hoops three-up on the night.
If he can find that kind of connection with the Celtic strikers on a regular basis then Lennon has a potent new weapon at his disposal.
The other full-backs at the Hoops are not currently known for their impressive crossing technique.
Taylor now deserves to get a run in the team whether as a full-back in a four-man defence or as a wing-back when Lennon opts for his alternative formation.
All eyes will be on this weekend’s teamsheet against Hamilton to find out if he’s done enough to make another start.
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