Kasper Hogh is the reason Martin O'Neill's Haissem Hassan explanation is fishy

Something doesn't add up about Martin O'Neill's dropping of Haissem Hassan on Sunday. Celtic took on Kilmarnock at Parkhead to finish off their relentless run of games and came out on top, winning 1-0 thanks to Liam Scales' first-half strike.

It wasn't a pretty performance from the Bhoys, but they were largely in control despite only managing a narrow lead. One thing fans quickly noticed was the absence of Haissem Hassan from the starting lineup.

The winger joined the Hoops on a £6million deal that could rise to £9million in the summer, although around £800,000 of that won't be due because of Celtic's failure to qualify for the Champions League.

Hassan looks to have some real quality, and when he produces a little trickery and speed, he looks to be too good for many of his opposing full-backs. But he hasn't been particularly consistent, and he has struggled to deliver a complete performance.

Hassan has just one assist and is yet to score across all competitions, and last week we wrote about how Celtic ned to be asking for more from the winger.

But we certainly weren't expecting Hassan to be dropped from the squad. O'Neill explained after the game on Sunday: “We're trying to do, as much as possible, we're trying to do a bit of manoeuvring at this minute. I just think it'll be great for places. If there's proper competition for places, it can only make us better.”

O'Neill's Hassan explanation just doesn't make sense. Look, dropping a player can give them the kick up the back-side they need to get back to form, but where has this approach been with other players?

Kasper Hogh arrived on a big-money deal in the summer and has been awful more often than not. The striker hasn't scored for three months and has regularly been replaced at half-time because of how poor he has been.

But when it comes to Hogh, O'Neill keeps saying that he 'just needs a goal', and he keeps starting the Dane. Hassan, meanwhile, may have been short of expectations but has still looked sharp on plenty of occasions and you can see the obvious potential.

But he gets dropped for not maximising his potential?

If you were Hassan, you would have to question that and point to Hogh as your reasoning. You would be saying 'how the hell are you dropping me when he has produced stinker after stinker and can't score from a yard out?'

It just doesn't add up, andquite frankly, it points to a different truth than what is being portrayed.