Celtic defender Stephen Welsh has praised fellow centre-back Cameron Carter-Vickers for stepping up and filling the captaincy role.
The former Tottenham Hotspur man returned to the Hoops back four last weekend, following his absence after the international break due to injury.
It was certainly a welcomed return for Carter-Vickers, who helped the Bhoys to three points in a dramatic 90 minutes alongside Welsh.
Not only did the American step in to return from injury at the weekend, though. He also filled the boots of Callum McGregor by taking the captain’s armband.
The regular Celtic skipper is set to be missing from action for several weeks, and Carter-Vickers appears to be the man that will be wearing that armband in his absence.
Speaking in the aftermath of Celtic’s 2-1 win, Stephen Welsh admitted that McGregor would be a huge miss to the side. However, the defender also praised Carter-Vickers and his leadership abilities as he prepares to step up to the task.
He said [Glasgow Evening Times]: “Everyone knows that Callum is a big miss. But I thought the boys showed great character again against St Johnstone on Saturday.
“Cam (Carter-Vickers) stepped up to be the captain and was a great leader. Everyone backed him, and we backed each other. Especially when we have tough moments during the game.
“We just have to trust in ourselves, trust the players around us. If the manager trusts you to go and play, you should trust yourself to go and play. I thought we did that.
“We switched off in the last couple of minutes and conceded a poor goal from our point of view. But the character the boys showed was great. We have done it many times before, and we will look to push on to Tuesday.”
Cameron Carter-Vickers set to lead Celtic during busy fixture period.
After McGregor sustained his knock, many expected Joe Hart to take the reigns as skipper and lead the side out on Saturday.
However, Carter-Vickers has now been given the chance to showcase his leadership abilities and lead the Hoops through an extremely busy period of fixtures.
The defender has been a crucial player for Ange Postecoglou’s squad ever since his arrival last summer, and you could see the impact his absence was having on the team.
So, it definitely feels like a good choice from the Celtic boss to hand the US international the armband, and hopefully, he can help fill Callum McGregor’s shoes whilst the midfielder continues his recovery from injury.
In other news, Turkish referee set to take charge of 2nd Celtic match for RB Leipzig clash
Receive a digest of our best Celtic content each week direct to your mailbox
