Celtic manager Neil Lennon is looking to manage the number of games Callum McGregor plays and freshen him up for tests ahead next month.
The Bhoys are playing Ross County at Celtic Park this afternoon, launching a defence of Betfred Cup after multiple successes in recent years.
Lennon made four changes to his team today, with the ever-reliable McGregor dropping to the Hoops bench.
Speaking to BBC Radio Scotland pre-match (13:40), Lennon said: “Callum has played a huge volume of games and we’ve got a huge volume of games coming up, so he’s on the bench today if we need him. I think he needs a little bit of a rest just to freshen him up more than anything else.
“Barkas comes back in, we always thought this would be a good game for him to come back in. He’s been training really well behind the scenes and getting used to the British style of play and the tempo we want to play at.
“It’s a change of shape just to get two strikers on the pitch, Odsonne’s looking more like himself and it’ll be interesting to see how him and Ajeti play together now.”
These are fair enough decisions from the manager, though some fans have already pointed out that Scott Brown could also do with a rest considering the number of games he’s played this season at 35-years-old.
Still, McGregor has played more minutes than anyone else in the squad this season with 1,874 in total (Transfermarkt). It’s no surprise to see him rested in one of the less important competitions.
So far it’s been a tepid performance from the reigning champions, with Ross County stoutly defending and holding their own under pressure.
The Staggies have also taken the lead with a penalty, holding a 1-0 advantage at the interval.
We might need to call upon talents such as McGregor from the bench in the second half to turn things around.
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