RAITHROVERS
John Hughes insists the Raith Rovers squad will know exactly what is expected of them when he makes his Stark’s Park debut against old club Hibs this weekend.
The former Inverness Caley Thistle and Falkirk boss was named successor to Gary Locke on Friday and will take a highprofile bow in the dugout against the Championship leaders on Saturday.
He began working with the players he has inherited at the club’s Glenrothes training base on Monday and was reunited with a few familiar faces from his previous stints as manager.
And the 52-year-old is determined he will be able to spark a turnaround in fortunes in a team that has not won in 14 matches stretching back to October.
He said: “I have to instantly analyse and see what I’ve got, to pick a team and a system I think can go and bring success here. And that will be one game at a time.
“I’ve worked with Mark Stewart, he was a young kid with me at Falkirk and I gave him his debut. I’ve worked with big Craig Barr and Bobby Barr at Livingston.
“It’s up to me to get the best out of these guys and ensure they know what they’re getting.”
NIR BITTON can split opinion with the ease in which he can spilt a defence with a pass. If you asked 100 Celtic supporters what they thought of a midfielder capable of sublime touches, who possesses a fine football brain and treats the game with the utmost respect, you might get close to 100 different replies.
This is because the Israeli can go through matches which at the end, or usually after an hour or so when he is substituted, supporters will ask what if anything he contributed.
Even when Bitton is having a good game, he can give off the impression that trotting into a jog is beyond him and that he isn’t really giving his all. That’s actually not true, it’s just his style, but when things aren’t going well then some in the crowd begin to murmur discontent.
Last Saturday, at the start of the 6-0 win over Inverness, Bitton gave the ball away a few times and you could hear the discontent starting. Then he pinged an inch-perfect pass over the top of the Highlanders’ backline which led to Mikael Lustig scoring the opening goal. He is a funny footballer.
After that, Bitton cruised the game; keeping the ball, making passes and his interception count at the end would easily have been in double figures.
He lost his place a few months ago to Stuart Armstrong and will probably have to make way once his team-mate returns from a calf injury. Bitton was Celtic’s second best player a year ago behind Leigh Griffiths but things have changed.
In saying all of this, he has played every match of 2017 and before that made a contribution every time he came off the bench. Yet those not convinced see him as a bit slow.
However, this guy is a player. In a 4-2-3-1, Bitton is your man to sit deep, calm down situations and keep the ball. This 25-year-old should have a significant part to play at Celtic.
“When you don’t play you are thinking what am I doing wrong and why am I not playing?” Bitton admitted. “You need to accept it. When you play for Celtic there is competition for every position.
“I’ve played six games in a row. I’m working hard and trying to show that I deserve to play.”
Rodgers likes Bitton even if he does not seem like the manager’s type. The Celtic manager wants his midfielders to close down, chase the ball, press the opposition and do all of this at pace. It’s not that Bitton doesn’t do that, but his game is more about calmness than chasing.
“What is said between me and the manager I will keep to myself,” said the player. “There is a lot to learn from the gaffer and I will do everything possible to stay [in the team].”
Bitton has been dropped by Neil Lennon, Ronny Deila and now Rodgers. The Israeli does seem to be the one who loses out when changes are made. And yet he always gets back in. He never sulks. Indeed, when news reached these shores that he’d thrown something of a strop while on international duty, it came as a shock because he’s a level-headed big guy who can see the bigger picture.
“I’m not the type of guy who will ever give up if I’m not playing,” he told the Celtic View. “When I didn’t play as much for around 10 weeks or so, it just pushed and motivated me to show that I deserved to play.
“When some things go against me and everyone is saying I’m out the team and won’t get my place back, it gives me the motivation to show that this place is mine and I will do everything to keep it now.”