NIR BITTON will not leave Parkhead as a Celtic legend, nor even as a club great.

He has never made a team of the season, picked up a player of the month accolade or even too many man-of-the-match awards.

He doesn’t have a crowning moment in terms of one defining image of his Celtic career like Tom Rogic (you all know the one), who announced his departure at the same time. Nor does he have a particular season of memorable excellence like former team-mate Emilio Izaguirre could point to upon his departure.

He doesn’t really need one, though. Plaudits and awards aren’t the main currency to a player of Bitton’s ilk; versatile, understated and (mostly) reliable. Their success is team success.

There’s been plenty of that for him in Glasgow. Across his nine seasons he has made over 270 competitive appearances and lifted 18 major honours. That’s a trophy every 15 or so games. He was capable of a screamer on occasion too. Not bad for a signing that cost less than a million way back in 2013.

This season his infamous sending-off against FC Midtjylland in the first game of the season belied what was to come: something of a Celtic redemption.

Ange Postecoglou deserves some credit for that. Restoring Bitton to his natural deep midfield habitat for the bulk of his minutes this season has worked arguably better than many would have assumed given the Israeli’s languid style and the manager’s high-intensity approach.

Indeed, under Postecoglou Bitton has clocked the most time on the pitch since the 2016-17 season. Stuart Armstrong usurped him from the first XI during that campaign which, discounting his injury-interrupted 2018-19 season where he only clocked around 500 minutes of action, was also the last time his minutes splits favoured a midfield berth in general. Essentially, for the past four seasons prior to Postecoglou’s arrival, Bitton was a centre-back.

It had become a bit of a running joke among the Celtic fanbase that no matter the success of the previous season, the Israeli would be there in the middle of the backline by the time the Champions League qualifiers rolled around. That was never intended as a particular slight on him, rather a critique of the club’s often tardy summer recruitment business.

Despite that meme playing out again in the early Postecoglou days, he’s largely been back in midfield this term. While his game-time has been substantial – 38 appearances and well over 2,000 minutes – that has never at any point meant he has been a first-choice starter. That was unlikely to change next season as the manager steps up the implementation of his philosophy and new personnel presumably arrives and the likes of Yosuke Ideguchi are given a chance.

His qualities on the field might well prove replaceable in the months to come but Bitton will still be missed for his other role: that of an unassuming and welcoming veteran member of the squad that, whether it be for a new arrival like Liel Abada or a Scotland native like Kieran Tierney, has embraced that responsibility as well as he did his shift to central defence.

“With Nir, I needed experienced players as it was a young group,” Postecoglou said of Bitton. “On and off the field he’s really helped Callum (McGregor) and sort of shaped the dressing room. His influence, particularly on Liel, has been unbelievable.”

READ MORE: Why Bitton and Rogic exits show Celtic's phase two rebuild starts now

Yet for all that it’s worth remembering that he has still put in some big performances on the pitch at vital times this campaign; the League Cup semi-final against St Johnstone, the final against Hibernian, away in Perth on Boxing Day, at Livingston when the Almondvale hoodoo was finally broken. Now that it’s been confirmed this season is to be the last of his time in Glasgow, he can hold his head high at the part he has played in rebuilding the club after the disaster of last term.

Bitton might not leave Parkhead as a club great, with any individual awards or league-wide recognition but he does depart as a solid central midfielder, a (mostly) reliable centre-back, a smart squad acquisition and a good team-mate. He also goes as an Invincible; as a quadruple-treble winner.