Celtic were heavily linked with Stephen O’Donnell this summer.
Scotland’s hopes of qualifying for EURO 2020 took another hit on Friday night, losing 2-1 at home to Russia having been leading 1-0 at Hampden Park.
John McGinn had put Scotland in front, but an equaliser from Artem Dzyuba and an own goal by Stephen O’Donnell handed Russia the win.
A number of players have been criticised for their performance, but right back O’Donnell is the main one, as his poor defensive work resulted in not being the right side of his marker for the winning goal.
O’Donnell was too far upfield and didn’t get himself back into the right position to stop the goal, with this the latest disappointing outing for the 27-year-old in a Scotland shirt.
The Kilmarnock man has yet to really show that he can effectively contribute going forward, and having slipped up defensively, some want him replaced.
His latest poor display for Scotland just again goes to show that he wasn’t suitable for Celtic, amid claims from The Scottish Sun earlier this summer that Neil Lennon was keen to bring the former Bhoys youngster back to Parkhead.
O’Donnell doesn’t appear to be cut out for the highest level, and whilst he may be good enough for Kilmarnock, his international displays with Kilmarnock suggest that he couldn’t hack European football with Celtic.
Yes, he knows the club and he knows Scottish football. However, Celtic ultimately need to be aiming for higher than that, and it’s not even like O’Donnell’s struggles with Scotland are because he’s young; he’s 27 and should be entering his prime, but deficiencies remain in his game.
Celtic ended up going for Hatem Abd Elhamed and Moritz Bauer, two players of a similar age but with a more proven track record at higher levels – and that’s what Celtic need, with O’Donnell again showing that Lennon made the right call not bringing him back to Parkhead.
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