Celtic hero admits he’s yet to be convinced by Dorus de Vries

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The 35-year-old has made three appearances for the Scottish Premiership side.

Celtic’s Dorus de Vries

Celtic hero Davie Hay has admitted to the Evening Times that he is yet to be convinced that Dorus de Vries is deserving of being the Hoops’ number one, but predicted that the Dutchman will remain between the sticks for the time-being.

Brendan Rodgers decided to send former first-choice Craig Gordon a message by bringing the 35-year-old to Parkhead during the summer window.

Craig Gordon

And while it was initially the Scotland international that kept the gloves, a mixed performance against Hapoel Be’er Sheva was the latest inconsistent display from the 33-year-old, prompting Rodgers to pick the former Nottingham Forest man for the clash with Aberdeen and stick by him in the subsequent games with Rangers and Barcelona.

But despite shipping nine goals in those three games – seven of which came against the Catalan giants – Hay has predicted that de Vries will get the nod for the clash with Inverness on Sunday, but insisted that that is not the choice he would make as he still has some concerns over the summer signing.

de Vries, during his time with Nottingham Forest

“I suspect we will see de Vries line up against Inverness in the Highlands on Sunday afternoon. It wouldn’t be the choice that I would make but I am not being paid to pick the team,” he told the Evening Times.

“I am not saying for one minute that Celtic would have come away from the game with anything if Gordon had been in goal – I still think they would have lost against a Barcelona side who were rampant – but I still need to be convinced by de Vries, although I don’t think the same applies to Rodgers,” he would add.

Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers

Given that the Bhoys spend most games on the front foot, the main attribute that their goalkeeper arguably needs in abundance is concentration as they can go a long time without doing anything before being called upon to make a crucial save.

And while Rodgers’ philosophy suggests that distribution is an important attribute to him when making his selection, if de Vries is incapable of making that vital save when the chance comes, it is unlikely that the fans will be particularly happy to see Gordon remain on the bench.