Opinion: Amount of football played has caught up with Celtic derby hero

It is fair to say that Celtic midfielder Reo Hatate has lost a bit of form in recent games after what was an incredible start to his Hoops career.

The midfielder scored twice in the memorable 3-0 win over Rangers last month to instantly become a Hoops hero. However, since then the Japanese star has failed to recapture that form, and it might be down to the number of games he has played recently.

Since joining the Hoops in the January transfer window, Hatate has made 11 appearances for the Bhoys. Last season he made 38 appearances for Kawasaki Frontale, with the J League season lasting from February to December.

That means that the player didn’t have much of a break before joining the Hoops, he has played 49 games in total in just over a year, and it is no real surprise that has caught up with the 24-year-old.

Therefore, it would perhaps make sense for Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou to leave Hatate out of the starting line-up for Celtic’s next few games. It would not do the player or the club any good to have Hatate playing on whilst he is struggling, which he was in the recent games against Hibernian and St Mirren, where he was substituted in the second-half.

Perhaps if Celtic weren’t playing Livingston on an artificial pitch this weekend then Hatate would start that fixture, but playing on that energy-sapping surface might not be the best idea for the midfielder.

We have already seen just how good a player that Hatate can be for the Hoops, as he was truly fantastic in the win over Rangers, and there is little doubt that he will go on to be a key player for the Bhoys in the next few seasons. But we might not see the best of Hatate until next season, after he has had a proper break in the summer.

Even if Hatate is given a break for the next few weeks, he could be back in the Hoops side for the trip to Ibrox next month, as he has already shown just how good a player he can be against Rangers this season, and Ange Postecoglou will be hoping that the player can recapture that performance.

Hatate can make an impact for the Hoops between now and the end of the season, and if the Bhoys go on to win the league title he more than played his part, but for the moment it would probably be best for all concerned if he was left out of the starting line-up for a few games.