Hard-working Boli earned his place, says Ange

Originally posted on The Celtic Star | By Will Lancaster | Last updated 9/19/21

He’s almost become a forgotten man on the Celtic forums, but today a certain Boli Bolingoli started for Celtic in the shocking defeat to Livingston.

The Belgian left-back made his last league appearance for Celtic in the 1-1 draw at Kilmarnock in August 2020, where he featured for just three minutes at Rugby Park.

Almost 14 months have passed, in which Celtic have overseen a new manager, disappointing losses to various sides and a whole host of players have come and gone.

So it was somewhat surreal to see Bolingoli’s inclusion today, in what was a sombre reminder of just how much Celtic have progressed since his last appearance.

“We’ve put Boli Bolingoli in because, to be fair to him, he’s been working hard and waiting for an opportunity and he’s got one today,”

His infamous COVID-19 fiasco led to his temporary loan to Istanbul Basaksehir, where he played just 12 league games after suffering a long-term knee injury – but given Greg Taylor’s injury, he was installed back into the first-team today under Ange.

And the Aussie claimed he was more than deserving of a place in the starting XI after working extremely hard in training.

“We’ve put Boli Bolingoli in because, to be fair to him, he’s been working hard and waiting for an opportunity and he’s got one today,” Ange said in his pre-match interview.

Try as he might, it wasn’t to be Celtic’s day nor Bolingoli’s – a third away defeat in a row has been met with clear criticism by Celtic fans across the globe.

But Bolingoli wasn’t actually that bad today, despite not being Taylor or Montgomery. Perhaps judgement should be reserved until he has a run in the side instead of being reactionary.