Michael Stewart believes Celtic goalkeeper Fraser Forster has benefitted from the partnership between centre-backs Christopher Jullien and Kristoffer Ajer, something Craig Gordon missed out on.
On-loan Southampton shot-stopper Forster produced a man-of-the-match performance for Celtic in their Scottish League Cup final win against Rangers on Sunday.
The Englishman has been attracting plaudits for his display at Hampden Park and former Scotland midfielder Stewart has hailed his performance against the Gers as sensational.
The 38-year-old believes Forster has been phenomenal for Celtic since arriving on a season-long loan in the summer, but feels the goalkeeper has benefitted a lot from the Jullien-Ajer partnership.
Stewart is of the opinion that the Hoops have found a solid defensive pairing in Jullien and Ajer and feels their Gordon was unlucky not to have such partnership in front of him.
"He's been top drawer, there's no doubt about it", Stewart said on the Ladbrokes Social Club.
"But, for me, I think the bigger improvement in the Celtic team is in front of him.
"I think that has helped massively – getting the centre half partnership sorted – because I think Craig Gordon was unfortunate, but Fraser Forster has come in and has certainly been top drawer.
"And his performance was sensational."
Jullien, who arrived from Toulouse in the summer, appears to have settled in well at Celtic Park, making one of the two centre-half spots his own.
