Martin O’Neill has made a telling admission over Camilo Durán after leaving the Celtic forward out of the starting XI against St Johnstone.
Durán dropped to the bench at McDiarmid Park as Kasper Høgh returned from injury and Sebastian Tounekti started on the left.
Speaking to Clyde 1 Superscoreboard, he said: “Durán doesn’t start for us. He’s just been class and he looked tired in the game against St Mirren.
“But I’m not surprised for the amount of things that he does for us, both with the ball, which is terrific, and also the work that he does off it.
“He’s second only to Daizen in terms of closing players down.
“So I wanted to try and see if we could do without him, and the answer is probably not.”
That final line is the one that stands out ahead of Sunday’s Premier Sports Cup quarter-final against Rangers.
O’Neill rested Durán after a heavy run of matches and handed Høgh his first start back from injury, but Celtic struggled to create enough in the first half.
Høgh worked hard and got through 86 minutes, while Tounekti showed flashes on the left, but Celtic lacked some of the movement and aggression Durán has brought in recent weeks.
The Colombian has been Celtic’s most productive attacker since arriving in the summer.
He scored twice against Falkirk, followed that with a goal and an assist against Aberdeen, then set up Yang Hyun-jun’s winner at St Mirren.
The bigger question is where.
Høgh is now fit again and has been Celtic’s recognised central striker, but Durán’s performances through the middle during his absence have made that decision far less straightforward.
O’Neill has now openly admitted Celtic may not be able to do without him.
With Rangers waiting on Sunday, Durán’s form and his manager’s comments suggest he will be very difficult to leave out again.
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