ANGE POSTECOGLOU has revealed why he took Jota off and changed up his front three towards the end of the game.

The substitutions contributed to a late defeat; the team looked out of sorts for the last ten minutes, conceding two goals.

The front three might have been fresh, but they were not up to scratch. Albian Ajeti, Liel Abada and Mikey Johnston looked well off it.

Nir Bitton coming off was also a blow for the Hoops, the Israeli international was having a brilliant game in defensive mid.

Speaking after the game, Ange told The Herald:

“He is going well,” he said. “We took him off because him and James in the front three worked really hard.

“I felt we needed some extra energy particularly in the wide areas and we had two players on the bench to do that. I felt it was a good time to make the substitutions.”

The Celtic manager added: “You saw he is playing against a very good team, good opponents, he wasn’t able to dominate the way he usually does. He just needs to keep working at it. He’s a young guy and he’s still learning.

“He took his goal really well, which again showed his quality. But there are still a lot of areas he needs to develop and the more we push him to play the football we do the more he will develop. He wants to. He knows he still has a lot to learn.”

The gap in quality between our first XI and what’s on the bench has to be addressed. If we had like for like replacements or better options on the bench, there’s every chance we see that game out or grab at least a draw.

It’s why January is a big month for the Hoops. They need to bring in quality players to add to some of the great signings already made.