Gary Mackay-Steven failed to win over Brendan Rodgers at Celtic – but was on fire as Aberdeen thrashed Hibernian 4-1 at Pittodrie.
Brendan Rodgers will have better weekends. Not only did his Celtic side suffer a humiliating 4-0 thrashing at Hearts, bringing a brutal end to their 69 game unbeaten run on Scottish soil, a player Rodgers let go produced one of the finest individual displays of the season 24 hours before.
Gary Mackay-Steven’s natural ability has never been in question but it’s the consistency that he has been lacking. Though his dazzling performance in Aberdeen’s 4-1 thrashing of Hibernian on Saturday showed just what the fleet-footed wideman can do when he’s at his best.
Making his first start in almost a month, Mackay-Steven hit a stunning hat-trick in his best performance in an Aberdeen shirt so far. The third goal, curled beautifully into the far corner after an exquisite build-up, was a reminder why the former Dundee United starlet is one of the most gifted footballers in Scotland right now.
In the eyes of Celtic fans, however, there remains a nagging frustration that Mackay-Steven did not produce these moments of magic on a regular basis in green and white.
The 27-year-old made just eight appearances in the league for Celtic last season with Rodgers clearly not a fan – before letting him leave for The Dons in the summer.
And with the gap at the top down to just two points, Celtic may be fearful that Mackay-Steven could come back to haunt them.
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