Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has told Chris Killen that he remains an important part of his plans.
Celtic boss insists striker is still in his plans
Celtic manager Gordon Strachan has told Chris Killen that he remains an important part of his plans.
The New Zealand international has yet to start a competitive game for Celtic, after joining from Hibernian at the start of the summer.
He has made just three appearances as a substitute, while other new signings such as Scott Brown, Scott McDonald and Massimo Donati have established themselves in the starting line-up.
However, Strachan has revealed that Killen was almost included in the side for the 5-1 victory over St Mirren on Sunday.
Strachan claims Killen was only left out because other changes had been made to the team and he did not want to unsettle the balance of things too much.
Killen came on for the final 24 minutes and Strachan has offered him encouragement for the future by praising the impact he had from the bench.
Unlucky
"I was thinking about playing Killen from the start," said the Celtic boss.
"But I thought four changes might be too much and we decided on three from the midfield.
"So he was unlucky not to start but when he got on he did well again."
