'Hearts bullied Celtic'…'Engels hides,' – Chris Sutton

The midfielder completed the entire match in the capital, even as the visitors were reduced to ten men after Auston Trusty was sent off in the second half.

The display from Celtic’s midfield – featuring captain Callum McGregor alongside Engels and Benjamin Nygren – drew negative reaction in the aftermath, with questions raised over their influence as a three together.

Despite the struggles in the middle of the pitch, Martin O’Neill opted against making any substitutions, leaving Luke McCowan, Reo Hatate and Paulo Bernardo unused on the sidelines.

Speaking on the latest edition of The Warm-Up podcast, Sutton admitted he was unimpressed by Engels’ contribution and felt the Belgian international did not assert himself enough during the contest.

Sutton said: “I thought Hearts bullied Celtic. That would be a worry. Martin will be well aware of that. He will be working ferociously hard.”

“Engels hides, in my opinion. If you look at the way Hearts wanted Celtic to build, by leaving Trusty on the ball and nullifying McGregor – everybody has cottoned onto that. Nullify McGregor and Celtic have a problem – if Engels was hiding.”

In other news, Celtic have added Bodo/Glimt forward Kasper Hogh to their list of attacking targets as they consider possible reinforcements ahead of the transfer deadline next Monday.

The Hoops are understood to be assessing the 25-year-old’s availability, with Championship side Norwich City also tracking his situation.

Sky Sports indicate that Hogh’s profile has been discussed internally by Celtic’s scouting and recruitment staff, and there have been suggestions that enquiries may already have taken place.

Forward Tomas Cvancara joined the club on a loan deal from Germany last week, while Johnny Kenny remains the only other natural striker due to Kelechi Iheanacho’s ongoing injury absence.

Conor Spence

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