Celtic obliterated last season's title rivals Hearts 7-1 at Parkhead on Sunday afternoon to send a strong message to their Scottish Premiership rivals, but Sky Sports pundit Chris Sutton was left unimpressed with winger Haissem Hassan.

Celtic manager Martin O'Neill has been feeling the pressure in recent weeks after the Hoops had lost four of their last five matches in all competitions heading into this match, but the Northern Irishman needn't have worried as the visitors ultimately laid the majority of their goals on a plate for them.

The Bhoys led 5-1 at half-time and by that stage of the game there was no doubt they were going to run out winners, and it was more of a question of how many more they would score before the final whistle.

The second half was quieter as they added two more, and the scoreline also allowed O'Neill to take three of his key players off on the hour-mark, ahead of the crucial Europa League tie at home to Celta Vigo on Thursday night.

Celtic are in desperate need of a win against the La Liga outfit having lost their opening two game against Ferencvaros and Benfica on Thursday night, with the defeat to Marco Silva's men highlighting the gulf in class between them and some of the other clubs in the competition.

The Glasgow giants can go into the fixture full of confidence however, following a straightforward victory at Celtic Park, which was morale-boosting for a number of players, including Camilo Duran and Callum Osmand.

Winger Hassan was thrust into the starting XI after an impressive cameo in Portugal on Thursday night, but despite spending 70 minutes on the pitch he was unable to register a goal or an assist in the thrashing.

Sutton Calls Out Hassan Weakness in Celtic Win

It wasn't the Egypt international's most fruitful display from an attacking point of view, but former Bhoys star Sutton actually called him out for his lack of defensive work on Sky Sports' coverage of the game, saying:

Hassan has a box of tricks. He is so difficult to play against, he's so positive and can go both ways. He doesn't want to work back defensively and that's the issue with him.

Perhaps that lack of defensive work is one of the reasons why O'Neill has been reluctant to start him in recent weeks, and the fact it's being highlighted again by a player who has worked under the Northern Irishman and knows what he wants, might say it all.

Celtic can't afford to have passengers when it comes to defending and if Sutton is correct in his observations, it would be a surprise to see Hassan in the starting XI against Celta later this week.

Still, Hassan himself will likely be more disappointed with what he produced, or rather didn't produce, in the final third of a such a comprehensive victory.

The Egyptian is clearly a player who frightens defenders with his dribbling ability, but if he can't back it up with an end product and he doesn't help out defensively, he can't expect to be starting on a regular basis in an O'Neill side.

The 24-year-old needs to do more and at a time when others like Sebastian Tounekti aren't impressing either, Hassan has a big opportunity to establish himself as a key starter if he applies himself correctly.