Brendan Rodgers won’t be swayed by sentiment or pride to play Marvin Compper.
In December the RB Leipzig defender was viewed as the cure for all of Celtic’s defensive problems but with just over a month left in the season Compper has yet to kick a ball in the SPFL.
A solitary appearance against Morton in the Scottish Cup has been his entire contribution so far with the German failing to make it onto the bench in the last three matches.
The emergence of Kris Ajer has been a big factor in Compper’s lack of game time while fellow January signing Jack Hendry has become a Scotland internationalist since signing for Rodgers.
“It was difficult for Marvin because he was injured in Dubai during the winter break, which put him out for a while,” the Celtic boss explained to the Daily Record.
“During that period young Kris has come into the team and been absolutely outstanding. So there have been others ahead of Marvin.
“His qualities are pretty clear for us, his experience and his way of working with the younger guys in training. Of course he wants to play as well but these aren’t fitness games we’re playing.
“I’m certainly not sentimental. We need to pick a team that gets the results. I’ll make a change if I don’t like the way we’re playing.
“It’s always been irrespective of age for me. When I first came in Kris was a midfielder and I thought his best position would be centre-half. Maybe in Norway he could play midfield but he has big possibilities at centre half.
“I knew he wasn’t going to get the games there for me at first, so we loaned him to Kilmarnock to get that positional experience. But it was more so he had to head the ball, because I knew he would be under pressure at Kilmarnock.
“That’s important if he’s going to do well in the British game. He did well there, came back to us and looked as if he’d developed as a man. Then it was just about timing and when to put him in.
“He did well in some of the Champions League qualifiers but still needed more time to develop. Now he’s in the team with a better understanding of the position.
“He has everything. His potential is huge. He’s 6ft 5, quick, can play football. He’s a very bright boy as well, he knows there’s still a lot of learning for him. He’s got this great hunger to get better, which I love in players, and he’s not even 20 yet.
“Marvin is a good guy, I like him. Hopefully in his time here he gets a chance to show his qualities but that’s only if other players aren’t playing so well.”
Compper is unlikely to be in the Celtic 18 that features at Hampden on Saturday with the lack of game time now a concern about the 32-year-old.
Hendry is cup-tied after playing for Dundee in an earlier round but it’s likely that Jozo Simunovic will come into contention ahead of Compper.