Celtic fans don’t know who their manager will be next season, but that hasn’t stopped the club from handing out new deals.
Before the opening post-split fixture could kick off, with Celtic beating Falkirk, the powers that be extended the stays of Liam Scales, James Forrest and Luke McCowan.
There was a sense of a negative reaction to those calls from Celtic, and that was put to James McFadden, who tried to dampen the questionable noise around it all.
“Yes and no,” said McFadden on the negative reaction to the new contracts. “I can understand because where the club are.
“But you still have to tie your players down. You still have to be planning. I can understand the lack of warmth if you like to the news.”
Did Luke McCowan deserve a new contract at Celtic?
James McFadden defends Celtic handing out new contracts
Not many are going to argue against Forrest being handed a new deal. He’s a one-club man and Celtic’s most decorated player of all time.
But perhaps most of the noise is around Scales and McCowan because it has been a mixed season for the duo, and they have featured on a more regular basis than Forrest.
Either way, McFadden mentioned Callum McGregor’s recent plea to the Celtic board, and how someone, somewhere needs to act and prepare for next season, as he told Sky Sports Football.
And these new deals are just a small sign of it all.
“Yes and no,” said McFadden on the negative reaction to the new contracts. “I can understand because where the club are.
“You think of Callum McGregor, and the message that he is sending out. It’s a clear message that the business wasn’t good enough in the summer. He feels as though the club hasn’t gone forward. In January as well.
“But you still have to tie your players down. You still have to be planning. I can understand the lack of warmth if you like to the news.
“But the club have to be ready for next season. There is still work to be done this season. It could still be a successful season, but you still have to put things in place for next season, and players need to be signed up.
“So, it’s no fault of the players. They have to take the contract that is offered.”
Scales, Forrest and McCowan stats for Celtic this season
Forrest will continue to play a bit-part role for Celtic, although he started the win over Falkirk and perhaps deserves to keep his place in the XI.
But with Scales and McCowan, they have to produce more consistent performances, and in the case of the latter, he needs to establish himself as a first-team player.
Whatever you think of Scales, he has still been consistently picked by three different managers – Brendan Rodgers, Wilfried Nancy and Martin O’Neill.
But McCowan finds himself on the bench again, and again. Although O’Neill did share that the attacking midfielder wants more game time.
- Scales’ games: 51
- Starts: 47
- Clean sheets: 17
- Total minutes: 4,347
- Forrest’s games: 37
- Starts: 8
- Goals: 1
- Assists: 2
- Total minutes: 1,328
- McCowan’s games: 40
- Starts: 16
- Goals: 4
- Assists: 3
- Total minutes: 1,717
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