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When Nir Bitton won the Premier Sports Cup for Celtic earlier this month, it was the 17th honour that the player has won at the club since joining the Hoops in 2013.
That is a remarkable number of trophies, and one that shows just how important a player that Bitton has been for the Bhoys in his time at the club. He has been trusted to be a first-team regular by every manager that he has played under, which only underlines his importance.
Bitton showed that importance in the recent win over St Johnstone. With the team rocked by multiple first-team absences, Bitton took over as captain as Callum McGregor was missing.
He stood up to the battle and turned in a captain’s display, even scoring a rare goal in Celtic’s 3-1 win.
Bitton is perhaps underrated compared to some other players at Celtic, and that could be because he has often had to play as a centre-back in his time at the club.
Whilst he is good in defence, Bitton is far more effective when playing in his natural midfield role. That has been shown in recent weeks, where Bitton has played regularly for the Hoops and has helped the team achieve some key victories.
You have to imagine that Bitton will be a key man for Celtic in the second-half of the season when the Bhoys return to action after the winter break.
Bitton knows how to win trophies at Celtic, having won multiple league titles, whilst the new arrivals at Celtic Park are yet to achieve that honour. Bitton can help those players who are yet to win the title, by inform them of the standards on the pitch they need to set to bring the title back to Celtic Park.
With Celtic set to play Rangers at the start of February, Bitton will likely be a key man for the Hoops in the midfield battle. He might not do the things that fans notice, but Bitton’s ability to win the ball and recycle it will be more than useful for Celtic not only in the derby, but in the other games in the second-half of the season.
Bitton will be looking to add two more trophies to his Celtic haul this season, the league and the Scottish Cup. The Hoops are capable of doing that, and Bitton could well play a big role if Celtic go on to win more trophies in the second half of the season.
