Celtic lifted the Scottish Premiership title for the third year running on Sunday after they ran out with a dramatic 3-2 win over St Mirren at Parkhead.
The Hoops had gone 1-0 and 2-1 down during the first half ot the away side but battled back to secure all three points in Glasgow, to ensure that they head into the SFA Cup final on a high.
Matt O'Riley scored the first goal for Celtic, which made it 1-1 before St Mirren had scored again, and then goals from Kyogo Furuhashi and Luis Palma either side of half time won the match for the Scottish giants.
They can now turn their attention to the SFA Cup final against Rangers at Hampden Park next weekend, as they have the opportunity to complete a domestic double by winning a second trophy of the season.
Joe Hart, in his last league appearance for the club before his retirement, enjoyed a terrific reception from the players on the pitch and the fans in the stands as Scott Bain replaced him with minutes to go at the end of the match.
The former England international was not the only player on the pitch who should have played his last game at Parkhead, though, as Brendan Rodgers must now brutally ditch Stephen Welsh in the upcoming summer transfer window.
Stephen Welsh transfer interest last year
Last summer, it was reported by the Daily Mail that a number of Serie A teams were looking at the Scottish defender as a possible signing to bolster their backlines ahead of the 2023/24 campaign.
Bologna and Hellas Verona were both said to be keen on a deal to snap up the centre-back, who wanted to play regular first-team football after a season on the sidelines last term.
However, neither team were able to convince the Scottish giants to part ways with Welsh, despite Gustaf Lagerbielke, Maik Nawrocki, and Nat Phillips having joined in the same transfer window.
The Scottish Sun added that Ligue 1 side Toulouse had attempted to secure his services in 2022 but former Hoops boss Ange Postecoglou rejected the offer, which was an initial loan with a £3.5m option to buy, opting to keep the academy graduate.
These reports from last year suggest that there could be interest from abroad if Celtic do decide that they want to finally cash in on Welsh this summer, as teams from France and Italy could be alerted to his potential availability.
With this in mind, Rodgers must brutally ditch the defender from the club as his team should now be up at Parkhead after his poor display against St Mirren on Sunday.
Stephen Welsh's "horrific" performance against St Mirren
The Hoops manager opted to rest Cameron Carter-Vickers and Liam Scales for the final league game of the campaign, which provided Welsh and Nawrocki with an opportunity to impress at the heart of the defence.
Unfortunately, the former did not take his chance to catch the eye in a positive way as he had a nightmare of a showing before leaving the field with what appeared to be an arm injury.
Sofascore rating
6.3
7.0
Clearances
4
4
Blocks
0
2
Ground duels won
1/2
1/2
Pass accuracy
84%
94%
Penalties committed
1
0
As you can see in the table above, Nawrocki outperformed the Celtic academy graduate with his work in and out of possession throughout the afternoon at Parkhead.
His performance was unimpressive enough to warrant a dismal player rating of 2/10 from Football Insider's Callum O'Connell, who noted that it was a 'difficult' game for the right-footed liability.
The worst moment of the game for Welsh came during the first half as he messed up with a header back towards his own goal that sent the St Mirren forward through on goal, and the centre-back then clumsily brought him down in the box in an effort to make up for his error.
As you can hear in the clip above, commentator Chris Sutton described it as a "horrific" mistake from the Scotsman, who was at fault for giving the ball away and then committing the foul for the penalty.
Ultimately, it did not matter on the day as Kyogo and Palma's goals turned the game around, with the winner coming after the defender had been substituted for Scales, to avoid a defeat or draw to St Mirren.
It should now be the final nail in the coffin for Welsh when you consider his form over the course of the season when called upon by the Northern Irish head coach.
Stephen Welsh's form for Celtic this season
The 24-year-old dud, who only made four appearances in the Premiership under Postecoglou during the 2022/23 campaign, was called upon ten times in the league by Celtic this term.
In those ten matches for Rodgers, the Scottish titan did not do enough to prove that he should be a key player for the club moving forwards, beyond the current season.
With Carter-Vickers, Scales, and Nawrocki ahead of him, and Lagerbielke still in the squad, it would take a colossal effort for Welsh to turn things around and become a regular starter at Parkhead.
Tackles made per game
0.0
34/34
Interceptions per game
0.4
12/34
Clearances per game
1.5
6/34
Blocks per game
0.1
13/34
WhoScored rating
6.36
32/34
As you can see in the table above, the centre-back has not been an outstanding performer from a defensive perspective with his lack of impact out of possession throughout the Premiership season.
Welsh has been a liability on the pitch with a ground duel success rate of just 38% in the league, which shows that opposition attackers have got the better of him far too often on the deck.
Ultimately, the Scotsman has not worked his way into the team on a regular basis, has struggled to make a consistent impact on the defensive end when picked, and has let the team down from a physical perspective.
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Therefore, the Hoops boss must brutally ditch him this summer as his time at Parkhead should be up, which was illustrated by his 'horrific' performance on Saturday.
