CARL STARFELT has seemingly been identified by many opposition fans as a weak link in Celtic’s defence. 

The Swede has a shaky start to life at Parkhead following his summer £4.5million move from Rubin Kazan, granted. 

However, the partnership he has formed with fellow central defender Cameron Carter-Vickers has been crucial in Celtic overthrowing Rangers at the summit of Scottish football once more.  

Before Christmas, Ange Postecoglou’s side were six-points worse off than their Glasgow rivals.  

Since the winter break, there has been a huge 12-point swing in the Hoops’ favour, as the Parkhead side went on a barnstorming run of form domestically. 

Attacking players such as Kyogo, Daizen Maeda, Liel Abada and Matt O’Riley often steal the headlines for the dazzling impacts on this Celtic side.  

Heck, even Josip Juranovic and Carter-Vickers have had far more positive coverage than Starfelt since joining.  

But finally, just finally, fans and those within the game seem to be appreciating the solid performances of the Swedish centre-half.  

That’s something that Postecoglou is far from surprised about – as he admitted some responsibility for the tough start Starfelt endured upon arrival on these shores. 

Starfelt has managed to work his way back into the international scene with his impressive run in the Celtic team, although he wasn’t used in their recent World Cup play-off games. 

If he continues his defensive work between now and the end of the season though, and he will not be far away from featuring for Sweden in their Nations’ League matches in the summer. 

Postecoglou said: “It doesn’t hurt his chances certainly. He has been fantastic for us this year. 

“He had a difficult beginning with us and that is probably my responsibility more than anyone else because we kind of threw him in early in the piece. 

“In the first game against Hearts he hadn’t even trained with us, he maybe had one session. We were still building a team, we hadn’t signed Joe (Hart), we hadn’t signed Cam (Carter Vickers), Josip (Juranovic) wasn’t with us yet. 

“So, he was dealing with a lot of things at a new club and it is testament to his character he just gone with it. 

“After the beginning he had it would have been very easy for him to drop his head. 

“He never complained about it, he never made excuses but accepted the fact I put him in without a great deal of preparation but he has been superb all year. 

“Now things have settled, the team has settled and we have started playing our football and he has come along with that. 

“He has grown into his role at the club and it is no coincidence his form for us has been noticed by the Swedish manager. 

“He has been outstanding for us I think his form with us will give us a great chance.” 

Another unsung hero in Celtic’s upturn in the second-half of the campaign has been Greg Taylor.  

Largely unfashionable in the eyes of many in the Hoops support, the former Kilmarnock star appears to have won over their hearts with his efforts in recent weeks. 

His performance at Ibrox may have surprised some, but not those who watched him as a first team regular at Rugby Park under Steve Clarke – which of course earned him the transfer to Celtic in the first place. 

Tough in the tackle and tenacious on the ball, he brings plenty to the table.  

And it’s little wonder that the Scotland cap is fancied strongly by boss Postecoglou with his inverted full-backs system.  

The left-back was out injured for a large portion of the campaign prior to Christmas and required shoulder surgery.  

This saw Juranovic play in his position – which he did very well because of his versatility.  

With Anthony Ralston having the season of his life on the right, it was almost becoming quite hard to see where Taylor would fit in to Celtic’s team.  

But the 24-year-old has proven to be more than capable of making the grade at Celtic – with his performance at Ibrox last week showing he is very much the club’s first choice left-back. 

Postecoglou added: “He has done well. Greg was unfortunate in that he started the season well for us and I thought he was definitely a player who could play the sort of football we want and contribute for us. 

“He hurt his shoulder which meant he missed a good chunk of the season. So he had to work hard through his rehab and he has got himself back in the frame. 

“Since he has done that he is carrying out his role really well for us. He has adapted to the sort of football we want to play and yeah he has been great for us. 

“Like Carl he had a difficult start to the season for a number of reasons but he has rolled his sleeves up and got on with it and it is good to see him playing well.”