Chris Sutton believes Callum McGregor’s dip in form is not down to the captain himself.
The Celtic captain has entered into his 12th season as a regular midfielder for the club.
The 32-year-old plays every single game for the Bhoys when fit and is the most suitable option by a mile for the No.6 holding role under Brendan Rodgers.
But this season, it appears the sheer number of minutes he plays is catching up with him, and it doesn’t look like his legs can keep up with Celtic’s intense schedule how they used to.
Clyde 1 Superscoreboard pundit Gordon Dalziel thinks McGregor needs to be rested more this season to get the most out of him.
Sutton strongly defends McGregor despite poor form
But Sutton doesn’t think McGregor is a problem for Celtic at the moment – he believes the players around him are to blame.
Sutton thinks McGregor’s Celtic teammates are ‘hiding’ and that the lack of flow in the side is hurting the skipper’s performances.
Speaking on the Record Celtic Podcast, he said: “I think that he’s on a different level to any other player in the Celtic team.
“That’s my view. I think it’s the players around him. I don’t think Callum McGregor will ever lose that ability in terms of his awareness and that first quick pass.
“I think there are players in the team currently who are hiding and that kills the flow. The other thing is oppositions realise if they can snuff Callum McGregor out, then you know Celtic are average.
“His football brain works much quicker than every other player in the team. And I think there hasn’t been that flow because of what is happening around him.
“Callum McGregor in years to come, he will slip out of the team because you know physically he won’t be at the level he once was and that happens.
“But, you know, we’ve spoken about this before, his position in the team, he’s virtually irreplaceable. But Callum McGregor is absolutely not the problem for Celtic. It’s basically everybody else around him who is the problem.”
McGregor needs more time on the Celtic bench
Is McGregor really on a different planet quality-wise to everyone else in the Celtic team right now? Absolutely not.
McGregor plays far too many games and minutes nowadays for his body to catch up and recover properly.
He needs to be given more time on the bench so that when he does come back in to feature, Celtic will benefit more.
A reduced schedule would then prolong his Hoops career and avoid him crashing and burning out early.
He’s not an old man yet because he’s only 32. But it’s clear Brendan Rodgers needs to manage his captain’s workload for the rest of the season and beyond.
Paulo Bernardo is perfectly capable of playing that No.6 role as proven against Livingston in the 3-0 win in August.
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