Gary Hooper is hoping to bounce back from bench duty to prove his worth to Neil Lennon.
The former Scunthorpe striker has scored in three of Celtic’s last four matches but was openly criticised by his manager after drawing a blank at home to Hibs.
That performance saw Hooper relegated to the bench against Rennes and Motherwell but on both occasions he shrugged off his trackie to score vital goals in must-win matches.
After a break of almost a fortnight Celtic are back in action at Inverness on Saturday with the Englishman hoping that he’s done enough to resume his partnership with Anthony Stokes.
“I thought I took it quite well. I was put on the bench, came on and scored,” Hooper admitted. “At the end of the day the gaffer changed it and it worked. Maybe I needed it.
“He freshened it up and in the last two games I’ve come on and scored so I think I’ve done well.
“It’s down to the gaffer who plays but maybe I needed a break. The fact we’ve won the last two games shows it’s worked.
“After the Hibs game he singled out Stokesy and myself but I thought we took what he said on board because we both scored goals in the matches after that.
“Against Rennes I stepped up my game and scored after coming on from the bench.
“We then both scored against Motherwell at Fir Park so it worked, the gaffer getting on our backs.
“You just need to take it and do better. You need to work harder at your game and I feel we’ve done that.”
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