Celtic are in a rut, and Brendan Rodgers has some big changes to make.
One man who has come under the firing line in recent weeks is Celtic captain Callum McGregor, who started the weekend defeat to Dundee.
Celtic face Sturm Graz in the Europa League on Thursday evening, and then it’s the trip to Tynecastle to lock horns against the Premiership’s high-flyers Hearts.
Should McGregor be starting? Whatever the issue, Stephen Craigan made it clear that the man wearing the armband isn’t himself right now.
Callum McGregor’s form and Celtic ‘fear’ after latest defeat
There has been a lot of outside noise at Celtic this season, with fans protesting towards the board, as well as Rodgers throwing his jabs in now and again.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, Craigan thinks that it is ‘putting a bit of fear’ into the players, and they are showing it with their performances.
Craigan highlighted how certain players are performing, including how McGregor ‘isn’t where he wants to be’ from a physical or mental standpoint.
“There seems to be a cloud hanging over the club, and there has been for a couple of months now,” said Craigan. “I think the players are looking at that. Putting a bit of fear into them and not showing their best.
“There is no doubt Cameron Carter-Vickers, Liam Scales, Kieran Tierney, Callum McGregor and Reo Hatate. They are better than what they have shown this season.
“There is clearly some sort of confidence and belief problem, or whether it’s just the noise outside that is impacting them as a group, because they aren’t reaching anywhere near their best or their levels. The fall off and drop off has been alarming from where they were at stages last season to this season.
“Callum McGregor has been the go-to man for so long, and maybe he is just going through a spell where he isn’t at his best. Maybe he isn’t where he wants to be. Mentally or physically, or whatever it may be.
“He isn’t reaching the levels, and nobody else around him is carrying the can or the fight.”
McGregor’s numbers for Celtic this season
Usually, McGregor is one of the first names on the teamsheet, but it has to be questioned whether that should still be the case now.
Rodgers has chopped and changed that midfield this season, even dropping Reo Hatate on occasions, but McGregor remains.
There are some parts of the fanbase who want McGregor dropped, who is being too passive in his play, and suffocating Celtic on the ball rather than making a direct impact.
- McGregor’s Premiership games: 8
- Starts: 7
- Off the bench: 1
- Goals: –
- Assists: –
- WhoScored rating: 6.84
- McGregor’s Europa League games: 2
- Starts: 2
- Goals: –
- Assists: –
- WhoScored rating: 6.41
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