Neil Lennon must drop Scott Brown against Kilmarnock on Sunday and give David Turnbull the chance to shine in the Scottish Premiership, Michael Stewart told the BBC (10 December, 9.50pm) after the 3-2 Europa League triumph over Lille.
Celtic’s third win in 13 matches raises as many questions as it answers.
The main one being: just why on earth has it taken this long for Lennon to give Turnbull and Ismaila Soro an opportunity to stake their claim?
After all, it is not as if Brown, or Olivier Ntcham for that matter, have shone this season.
Celtic’s 35-year-old skipper looks a fading shadow of his once dominant self but, in a hard-fought and well-deserved triumph over Ligue 1 giants Lille, the seldom-seen Soro provided bite, energy and tenacity and the heart of midfield in Brown’s absence.
Turnbull, meanwhile, was the star of the show in only his second start for the Glasgow giants, offering a thrust the languid Ntcham is so often lacking.
Not only did the former Motherwell talisman score the winner with a trademark, edge-of-the-box strike; he also set up Christopher Jullien’s opener and helped win the penalty which Callum McGregor smashed home.
“I’m surprised it has taken this long for (Turnbull to get a chance) – he has had so few opportunities. I would be amazed if he was not in the team against Kilmarnock, and the same goes for Soro. He brought real dynamism to the middle of the park,” former Hearts and Hibernian ace Stewart said, before adding that Brown should be left out this weekend.
“I think he has to. We can go round the houses as much as we want but Scott Brown is 35, and he can’t play every game.”
It remains to be seen whether Lennon now places his faith in a new generation as Celtic look to breathe life into a campaign that already looks dead in the water.
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