Duran central to changes required for derby revenge

[BBC] There's been no shortage of debate since Sunday about what went wrong at Ibrox. And there's just so much to pick apart. The midfield, the lack of intensity, the absence of control, and the way Rangers were able to impose themselves physically all across the park. But the more I think about it the more I wonder if at least part of the problem comes back to something much simpler. Did Celtic make life a lot harder for themselves by moving players away from the positions where they've been most effective? And in particular, did they do that with Camilo Duran? The Colombian has been arguably Celtic's best player this season. He has looked dangerous through the middle, carried a genuine goal threat, and given Celtic something they have been missing for a while. In the three games Kasper Hogh missed through injury, Duran was used in his natural number nine role and provided three goals and two assists. Then Hogh returned at St Johnstone and Duran was nudged out again. The same happened at Ibrox where he started on the right before switching to the left at half-time. And although he can be dangerous from those areas too, we saw very little of that on Sunday. This isn't about writing Hogh off. Far from it. I still think he'll score plenty of goals for Celtic. But if accommodating both players weakens the one who has been most effective, the question has to be asked about why we've done so. With Ferencvaros and Rangers coming next Martin O'Neill doesn't need to rip everything up. But he does need to make changes. Return Duran to the middle - and if that means Hogh starts on the bench then so be it. Take the underperforming Sebastian Tounekti out of the firing line and bring in the experience and steadiness of James Forrest, at least until Yang Hyun-jun returns. And start Haissam Hassan on his favoured right-hand side. But there's also a bold call to be made in midfield. For all Benji Nygren's goals and assists he can become too much of a luxury in games where Celtic need control. Too often Callum McGregor and Mika Baur have been left with too much ground to cover and too much defensive work to do - and perhaps this is the moment for Oliver Sorensen to show why he was Midtjylland's player of the year in 2023-24. That one change alone could give Celtic more stability, make us harder to play through, and create the platform for the attacking players to do what they do best. There's always a temptation after a derby defeat to throw everyone under the bus. But there have still been genuine reasons for optimism this season and Duran is one of the biggest. Martin O'Neill has described him as a "special player". So play him where he can be most special. Defeats like Sunday are painful, but can be useful if you learn from them quickly. To make no meaningful changes after what happened at Ibrox would be criminal. Tino can be found at The Celtic Exchange