Celtic fans rip into ‘utter dross’ starter who ‘should be sold’ after Dundee United shocker
Celtic fans have lambasted Reo Hatate on social media after he was completely ineffective in their win over Dundee United on Saturday afternoon.
Martin O’Neill returned to Celtic to replace Wilfried Nancy last week, and his first task as their new boss until the end of the season was a home clash with Dundee United.
The Hoops never looked in trouble throughout the encounter, as strikes from Hyun-jun Yang and Arne Engels gave them a 2-0 lead at the break.
Benjamin Nygren and Daizen Maeda scored in the second half to seal the win, with Celtic now just three points away from league leaders Hearts, who play on Sunday.
O’Neill trusted Japan international Hatate to start in midfield alongside Engels and Callum McGregor, but his poor recent form continued at Parkhead despite the comfortable nature of their win.
Hatate was not at the races against Dundee United amid poor recent showings
Hatate has been at Celtic for four years now, following a January 2022 move from Kawasaki Frontale, and he has been a regular starter in Premiership and European games for the club throughout that time.
Celtic fans have slammed Hatate for his recent performances, though, and his woes did not let up against Dundee United as he barely had any impact on proceedings.
The 28-year-old failed to have a shot on target all game, despite starting from an attacking midfield position, while he was dispossessed twice as he lost focus in the middle of the park.
Hatate was simply not on the same wavelength as his teammates, as he lost all three of his attempted ground duels and was duly hooked off on the hour mark by O’Neill.
Things quickly went from bad to worse for the Japan international, from a selfish point of view, as his replacement Nygren slid home the Hoops’ third just two minutes after coming on.
Celtic fans fume at ‘useless’ Hatate as January sale touted
Celtic fans will have been pleased with their players’ performance as a whole on Saturday, but United were poor, and they will face much tougher tests going into the business end of this campaign.
Hatate has previously been linked with a Premier League move, and many Hoops supporters would seemingly be happy to see him depart this month following his latest lacklustre outing.
Taking to X to react to his performance, one fan said: “Everyone in the team tries to make space for the pass except Hatate, he’s always hiding behind opposition players.“
While another added: “Nygren should be one of the first names on the teamsheet, he gets goals. Hatate is awful and should be sold. He does nothing, the creativity he once had has been coached out of him and now he’s useless.“
And one supporter said: “Having Hatate on is like playing with a man down. He’s useless.”