With Nir Bitton the latest Celtic midfield absentee for Wednesday’s Glasgow derby, it looks as though James McCarthy is in line to be thrown in out of nowhere.
The injury/suspension list for our engine room this week is pretty ridiculous in truth. Callum McGregor looks to be all but out along with Yosuke Ideguchi. David Turnbull won’t be back for another month, whilst Bitton is suspended after being sent off against Dundee United yesterday.
That’s, incredibly, 4 of our top central midfielders out of action when Rangers come to town. We are now in a situation where we literally only 3 options we can use. Matt O’Riley will almost certainly start, and then Ange Postecoglou must pick between McCarthy and Ismaila Soro.
Take a look at our bench from yesterday. McCarthy and Soro were our only alternatives. With another body out in Bitton, Ange will need to select a player he clearly doesn’t fancy all that much.
Of course, some may still hope that McGregor returns out of the blue. That Ange and Celtic are hiding something here and that he’ll spring out into the starting XI with a face mask. That seems fanciful at best. It’s also not likely the boss brings up anyone from the youth ranks and throws him into the team either.
So it’s a toss-up between Soro and McCarthy. The latter has come on in games against Alloa, Hearts, and Dundee United respectively. Even if he only has 4 league starts to his name, he’s been getting used more frequently in recent times [Transfermarkt]. Soro, however, has only played 1 minute since returning from the winter break [Transfermarkt]. Ange has been more keen on giving McCarthy some minutes than his midfield rival.
James McCarthy has golden opportunity to win over the Celtic supporters
Make no mistake, this isn’t a situation Postecoglou would’ve liked. He clearly hasn’t seen much in McCarthy since the former Crystal Palace man arrived in the summer.
However, at the same time, Ange has still been giving him minutes since the winter break. Perhaps in preparation of him needing to throw him in for a situation such as this. It’s good prep from the manager if that’s the case.
But think back to a month ago. The prospect of McCarthy starting in a Glasgow derby would’ve struck fear into the supporters. To an extent it probably still does. It’s not that the occasions will leave him daunted. He’s come up against much better players than Rangers have to offer and got the better of them down in England. It’s just the fact we’ve yet to see that be replicated in Scottish football.
That’s what makes this such an intriguing opportunity for the player himself. The arrivals of O’Riley and Ideguchi were not a great look for McCarthy or how the manager viewed him. But if he performs against Rangers on Wednesday night, everything changes.
We know McCarthy has the levels within him to raise his game to that standard. He can control the midfield against any team in Scotland if he can find those levels. And now it looks as though he could be handed the biggest opportunity of his Celtic career to date.
He has to look at this as the golden chance of a revival that it is. Granted, Ange hasn’t and won’t confirm who is in his plans for Wednesday night. But it all adds up to McCarthy being given a vital role. It will be interesting to see whether he can make the most of it.
In other news, “The club I’ve supported my full life”; Ben Doak’s message to Celtic fans after promising debut
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