Darren O’Dea isn’t buying what he’s seeing with Reo Hatate right now. In his view, Celtic’s best midfielder is sitting on the sidelines, and that does not add up.
Hatate has found himself on the bench in recent weeks and, more strikingly, did not get a single minute during the full 120 of the Scottish Cup semi final win over St Mirren. That raised a few eyebrows on its own, but for O’Dea, it points to something deeper.
The Japan international has not hit top form this season, but there were signs he was finding his rhythm again. He made a real impact off the bench against Rangers and was handed a start in the following derby. That is why his sudden absence feels odd.
O’Dea cannot quite make sense of it and believes there has to be more going on behind the scenes.
Speaking on The Breakdown, he said: “That probably really is the underlying problem at Celtic is why your best midfield player isn’t on the pitch.
“And I can assure you it’s not because the manager ain’t picking him, because he’s flying in training, or he just thinks there’s a better player. There’s a problem. I mean he mustn’t be training, right? I don’t know. I don’t know. We don’t know.”
He also turned his attention to Sebastian Tounekti, another player who has divided opinion. There is talent there, O’Dea insists, but it is not being fully used.
From his point of view, the issue is not ability but mindset. Tounekti looks hesitant in key moments, especially when Celtic get into dangerous areas.
He added: “I think when you’re listening to Celtic supporters inside the stadium, the thing that is driving them insane is when they get to the final third.
“Sebastian Tounekti, I am going to call it, I think there is a player there. I honestly believe there is a player there. He is petrified to lose the ball, he is petrified.
“My thing, when I was going on the pitch, was ‘do not lose the game for my team’. That was my mentality: be a good team mate. You cannot play at the front end, at any level, let alone Celtic, if you have got that mentality.
“He is so safe, he can travel with the ball, he has a nice way about him. It looks like he is about to deliver and it never comes. That can be a mentality thing, we seen it with Nicolas Kuhn as well. He was petrified to take someone on, it took Brendan Rodgers to basically say ‘I don’t care what you do, you’re going.’,
“He needs that. You’re getting to the final third, you land on him one vs one, and it is going back the way. One vs ones in the final third of the pitch at a club like Celtic should be gold dust.”
It is a strong take, but one that taps into a growing feeling around the team. For O’Dea, the questions around Hatate’s absence and the hesitation in attack are not separate issues. They are part of the same wider problem Celtic are trying to solve.