How many mistakes can Mikael Lustig make before Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers intervenes?
Celtic fans slaughtered Mikael Lustig on Twitter for his error in Tuesday night’s 2-1 win at Partick Thistle – and rightly so.
The Swedish right-back botched a routine clearance, allowing Miles Storey a sight at goal, before tugging back the Partick man to concede a penalty which Connor Sammon scored to give the hosts a 1-0 half-time lead.
It’s not the first time that Lustig has been suspect this season. In fact, it’s a regular occurrence these days, when you consider that he was also poor against Rangers last month and in the 4-0 demolition by Hearts at Tynecastle.
With that in mind, you wonder what right-back Cristian Gamboa must be thinking, and if Brendan Rodgers doesn’t punish the 31-year-old by dropping him then the 2016 signing should seriously consider his future.
Gamboa, a £1 million signing from West Brom 18 months ago, hasn’t kicked a ball for the Hoops since October and how many mistakes does Lustig have to make before Rodgers makes a judgement call?
By not acting, the Northern Irish manager is effectively rewarding Lustig’s clumsiness by continuing to select him every single week and it can’t send out a healthy message to every other understudy to a first-team regular.
Celtic host Hibernian in Glasgow on Saturday and if another dodgy performance from Lustig goes unpunished by Rodgers then few would blame Gamboa for using what little time he has to try and get a move.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
