Martin O’Neill has a big call to make as Celtic prepare for their Europa League playoff clash against VfB Stuttgart in Germany on Thursday.
Many are calling for O’Neill to make wholesale changes, given that Celtic are heading out after losing the first leg 4-1 at Parkhead, and they face Rangers on Sunday at Ibrox.
Mick McCarthy is also in that boat and told the Hoops ‘Rangers is the important game’, as he feels O’Neill should play a weakened side against Stuttgart.
The former Premier League boss also noted how Celtic can ‘still win the title’, but they won’t progress from this Europa League fixture.
Should Martin O’Neill field a rotated side vs Stuttgart to focus on the Rangers game?
What would you do?
Mick McCarthy urges Celtic to make changes for VfB Stuttgart trip
Speaking on The Managers Podcast, McCarthy admitted the travelling Celtic support would want to ‘win’ the game in Germany, and it would be a ‘bad’ thing not to play the strongest possible XI.
But the Celtic legend also noted ‘it will be determined by the result’, because if the team come out of this in a positive light, then there will be all smiles, if not, then expect the expected backlash.
Either way, this is what former Premier League managers McCarthy and Tony Pulis had to say about Celtic’s two huge games this week.
Mick McCarthy: “Celtic play Rangers on Sunday, that’s going to make a difference in who is going to win the title.”
Tony Pulis: “The one thing about that game is the fact that Celtic have to go to Stuttgart. Now, they are out of it, anyway. It will be interesting to see which team Martin picks to go there.
“He will know, on Sunday, he is coming back, and he’s probably got the biggest game of the season against Rangers.”
McCarthy: “Well, I have done it before. I have picked a weakened side (as Wolves boss), as you know and got pelters for it (fined, as it was against the rules to make so many changes at the time).
“But if I am Martin, those games, we have talked about that before, the stats, on playing Thursday night, and travelling and coming back. It’s something like 50% more chance of losing that game on Sunday. It’s a ridiculous stat. Years ago, when I was at Ipswich, we found that out that stat.
“But I am going to Stuttgart, and I am not playing all my best players. That might be bad now because Celtic fans are going there, and they all want to win.
“But if they can’t qualify for anything from that game. Rangers. Rangers is the game you have to win.”
Pulis: “That’s the question I was going to ask you. If you threw this open to the majority of Celtic supporters. Would you be annoyed and disappointed if Martin played a weakened team in Stuttgart, and kept all his best players for the Sunday? Or, are you quite happy he does that?”
McCarthy: “I tell you what, it will be determined by the result. I think they would want them to play the best team that hasn’t played 90 minutes on Thursday night, and had a rip-roaring game in Stuttgart. You might go there and win that.
“It doesn’t make a difference. The difference is that they can still win the title if they get on a winning run, and they have to beat Rangers. They have to beat Rangers because they lost the last one.
“I am telling you that Rangers is the important game in Celtic’s calendar this week.”
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Which Celtic players need resting ahead of the Rangers tie?
The most obvious player who sticks out is captain Callum McGregor because it seems like he never gets a proper rest.
But the funny thing about playing a weakened side is, what actually is Celtic’s strongest XI? Nobody knows because of how abject most of the players are performing.
Either way, there are a few players who are better sitting out the Stuttgart game to be ready for the Rangers clash.
- Callum McGregor
- Julian Araujo
- Liam Scales
- Kieran Tierney
- Benjamin Nygren
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