Chris Sutton in disbelief at what Brendan Rodgers did during Dundee vs Celtic
Celtic entered their clash with Dundee five points behind leaders Hearts, knowing the importance of securing victory.
Brendan Rodgers’ future at Celtic is uncertain, with his contract expiring at the end of the season, and the former Leicester City boss has been left frustrated by their lack of quality transfer business.
Celtic fans are also protesting against the board over a lack of ambition at the top, and their struggles on the pitch were highlighted ahead of their visit to Dundee.
Daezen Maeda was withdrawn from the Japan squad with a leg injury and subsequently missed their Scottish Premiership clash, dealing a blow to Rodgers.
That wasn’t the only concern facing the manager, as one player produced a disastrous first-half performance.
Chris Sutton baffled that Yang Hyun-Jun started over James Forrest
Celtic gave themselves a mountain to climb against Dundee after going 2-0 down in the first period, thanks to Clark Robertson and a Cameron Carter-Vickers own goal.
Speaking on Sky Sports commentary, Chris Sutton was in disbelief that Yang Hyun-Jun started over James Forrest on the right flank.
“McCracken hasn’t had any real saves of note to make. He has to take Yang, I do not understand the decision to start him over Forrest,” Sutton said. “Yang doesn’t know what he’s going to do with the ball. Get him off.”
Yang was unsurprisingly substituted for Forrest at half-time after making four unsuccessful touches, completing zero dribbles and losing the ball nine times.
It was an incredibly ineffective performance from the 23-year-old, and Sutton was right to question the call to select him ahead of Forrest.
How Forrest performed after coming on
Forrest is a 13-time champion of Scotland, and the experienced winger is currently playing for his future at Celtic Park.
The 34-year-old sees his contract expire in June 2026, and he could wave goodbye to the club he’s spent over 15 years at.
This season, the fleet-footed winger has recorded zero goal involvements across all competitions, and unfortunately, that run continued against Dundee.
| James Forrest stats vs Dundee |
| 45 minutes played |
| 1 accurate cross |
| 17/19 accurate passes (89%) |
| 25 touches |
| 0 successful dribbles |
| Possession lost 4 times |
| 0 duels won |
Forrest’s introduction didn’t do much to improve their quality going forward as Celtic fell to a damaging defeat against Dundee.