Tam McManus reckons Rangers forward Cyriel Dessers showed a "real lack of bottle" for not taking a penalty in the Scottish League Cup final last weekend, while saying Joe Hart taking one for Celtic last season was "strange".
Former Celtic stopper Hart was nominated as one of Celtic's five primary takers in the Scottish Cup semi-final against Aberdeen last season, before crashing his spot-kick against the post.
Hart would eventually redeem himself with a match-winning penalty save – while the reverse was true of Jack Butland in Sunday's showpiece fixture; the Rangers' stopper scoring his own yet conceding all five of Celtic's on the day.
Speaking on all of the above on PLZ Soccer (via 67HailHail), McManus said: "I was as stunned as everybody else when I saw Jack Butland coming up to take a penalty kick. Joe Hart did it a couple of seasons ago, was it? Which I thought was strange, at the time.
"For him to come up and take one of your first five penalties, your goalkeeper and you have a striker there. I think it shows a real lack of bottle for Cyriel Dessers. That’s all it is."
Read more:
- This is how Celtic defeated Rangers in the League Cup final
- Kasper Schmeichel's hat tip to Rangers rival after Celtic heroics
McManus added: "That’s what you do as a forward, put your hand forward, because it’s an opportunity to go and score. You have had more practice than defenders, particularly goalkeepers.
"I was stunned at that and I can understand a lot of Rangers supporters being really disappointed in Cyriel Dessers.
"If you are a striker and you are letting a goalkeeper. I would be embarrassed in a penalty shootout seeing a goalkeeper go up and take it for me.”
