Jozo Simunovic had another shocker for Celtic on Saturday, but will Brendan Rodgers do what’s necessary and drop him on Thursday?
Celtic survived a scare to beat Partick Thistle 3-2 on Saturday to progress into the quarter-final of the Scottish Cup.
Manager Brendan Rodgers will have been relieved in the immediate aftermath as a below-par Hoops side posted a sloppy display and if not for the brilliance of James Forrest – who scored a hat-trick – they might have lost.
But with Zenit St Petersburg coming to town on Thursday, relief should give way for anxiety for Rodgers after what he saw at Parkhead yesterday.
Celtic were dreadful defensively and the Northern Irish manager simply must consider dropping Jozo Simunovic, who was at fault for one of Partick’s goals and too easily muscled by Conor Sammon for the second.
On the whole, it was a very poor performance from the big Bosnian who is making a habit out of such slapdash showings and surely Rodgers must be worried about playing him against Zenit, who scored 17 goals in the Europa League group stages – more than any other side.
The alternative means pairing Kristoffer Ajer and Jack Hendry in central defence, with Marvin Compper ineligible and Dedryck Boyata injured, but both are young and hungry centre-halves who have a point to prove to Rodgers.
Simunovic, on the other hand, does not look like he has much of an appetite for anything, a far cry from the defender rated at £7 million (Daily Mail).
It would be a ballsy move by Rodgers, but also a necessary one. If Simunovic had a horror show against the Firhill side, and let’s not forget Hearts back in December, then how badly will Zenit expose him?
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