John Collins addresses Celtic captaincy situation

By David Walton

May 6, 2021

John Collins has been discussing the Celtic captaincy situation as didn’t sound too convinced about the prospect of Callum McGregor succeeding Scott Brown.

Brown is set for a move to Aberdeen this summer as he takes up his new player-coach capacity. Naturally, all talk has switched over to who his successor will be.

McGregor is currently the vice-captain, and looks primed and ready to take over from Broony. However, there are question marks over whether his personality is suited to the role. His red card picked up against Rangers on Sunday also showed a carelessness we could do without.

Collins, who hopes to become the club’s next Director of Football [BBC], also has concerns about McGregor’s suitability for the captaincy. But, as quoted by the Glasgow Times, it’s still a role he thinks Callum can carry out.

“I’ve got to be honest. Callum is a quiet, reserved young man. His leadership is in performance. He performs like a leader consistently but he is not a huge talker or shouter or motivator.

“He can be a captain, but I wouldn’t class Callum as a natural leader or spokesperson. I’d class him as a top-class football player and a good role model for every player in the academy.”

John Collins trying to dismiss McGregor for Celtic captain in the nicest possible way

Collins will of course be biased to an extent. He was the assistant manager to Ronny Deila when Callum started making his big Celtic breakthrough. It’s no surprise he’s still finding ways to praise McGregor whilst dismissing him for the captaincy role.

Make no mistake, that’s exactly what Collins is doing here. He says that the vice-captain isn’t a “huge talker”, “shouter” or even a “motivator”. That’s quite the harsh assessment for someone who could be a potential captain. What Collins is clearly trying to tell us is that it’s not really the role for Callum.

It would be interesting to get the player’s thoughts on this. Generally, people who aren’t naturally good motivators or talkers would look to avoid this kind of responsibility. Nobody really knows how Callum feels about the situation outside of those at Celtic.

Celtic midfielder Callum McGregor (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images)

In the past, McGregor has moved to avoid questions on taking over from Brown. But at the same time, it’s an incredible honour to be the Celtic captain, and it’s still a responsibility CalMac has seized in the past.

The most important opinion, of course, is that of the next manager. If he views McGregor as captain-material, then it’s his if he wants it. However, it could easily be the case that the new boss believes a change needs to be made.

As things stand, it’s anyone’s guess.

In other news, we discuss why Eddie Howe to Celtic won’t make up for this continuously woeful off-field blunder.