Celtic fan voice: 'What's next for the academy?'
It was Ange Postecoglou who coined the phrase "We never stop!" during his time at Celtic, and it feels as relevant now as it did then as we head into the final fixtures of this season.
But is it that relentless and ruthless mindset from within the first-team environment that's actively preventing young players from making the grade at Celtic Park?
With the title already wrapped up, many would see the final three Scottish Premiership fixtures as the perfect time to provide some of our academy players with vital first-team experience.
But the reality is that's very unlikely to happen.
With momentum being viewed as a priority before the Scottish Cup final, and almost every game we play being labelled as a 'must win', there's every chance our most talented youth prospects will once again find themselves watching from afar.
The manager has made it abundantly clear there'll be no coasting over the finish line and every member of his squad - young and old alike - will be desperate to stake a claim for a place at Hampden.
And so the big debate among fans remains - when (and where) is the right time for Celtic to introduce youngsters to the squad?
Of Celtic's 53 games this season so far, four of the current crop of academy players have had first-team minutes.
But when you drill down into the detail it makes for some fairly uninspiring reading.
While Dane Murray was exposed to a Champions League cameo against Aston Villa, followed shortly after by the full 90 minutes in a 5-0 Scottish Cup win over Raith Rovers, his young team-mates have featured even more sparingly.
Daniel Cummings got 12 minutes in the same Villa game, while Jude Bonnar played 11 minutes of February's 5-1 league win over Aberdeen. Francis Turley has featured for just one solitary minute, replacing Reo Hatate in an early-season 3-0 win over St Mirren.
So what's the solution?
If we play the youngsters and go on to drop points or lose cup ties, what does that do for their confidence, and for the confidence of the fans?
Alternatively, if we don't play them - akin to what we're doing just now - then what's the point of the academy at all?
Is it good enough to just be producing players who go on to make their careers elsewhere? Most would say no.
And though the ongoing success of the first team is something we'll all continue to enjoy, an undeniable hope for many fans is that we soon see the emergence of the next Callum McGregor, Kieran Tierney or James Forrest from Lennoxtown.
But for that to happen, in its simplest form our youngsters must get minutes. Otherwise they'll just disappear like so many before them in recent times.
So while the "We never stop" mantra has so many positive connotations, maybe now is the time to stop, reassess and take a long hard look at what's next for the Celtic academy.
Tino can be found at The Celtic Exchange, external
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