Given that Jota has just returned from a long-term knee injury, he wasn’t risked for Celtic’s showdown against Falkirk on Sunday.

That’s because Falkirk are still playing on a plastic pitch, which will be outlawed by the summer of 2027, so Martin O’Neill opted to go down the safe road.

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Liam Scales of Celtic looks dejected as Falkirk players celebrate their second goal of the game scored by Scott Tanser of Falkirk during the William Hill Premiership 2026/27 match between Falkirk and Celtic at Falkirk Stadium on November 1, 2026 in Falkirk, Scotland.

Kasper Hogh should have started for Celtic on Falkirk’s plastic pitch

O’Neill is an old-school coach, and some of his kind might brush away a reason not to select a player because of the surface of the pitch.

But the fact of the matter is, he did for Jota, and rightly so, because there is no reason to risk him after being out for so long.

However, on the same token, why didn’t he do the same with Hogh? Yes, Celtic’s club-record transfer doesn’t deserve to start because of his performances.

That’s plain to see, given that he has only scored in one game this season – a hat-trick away at Kilmarnock.

But Hogh is used to plastic pitches, having played most of his time on this surface during his days with Bodo/Glimt.

Yet, when he gets the chance to play on such a surface, what do the Celtic coaching staff do? Start him from the bench!

The fact that Celtic were beaten by Falkirk and missed big chance after big chance makes that call even worse, because Hogh’s penalty box poacher instincts, which haven’t been used enough this season, would have come right into play.