There is a version of Celtic captain Callum McGregor that does not hesitate.
You recognise it straight away. The first touch opens the pitch. The next pass hurts the opponent. The tempo lifts because he demands it does. Celtic have relied on that version of their captain for years.
It is not the version they are getting right now.
That is what makes this moment uncomfortable. Not because McGregor has suddenly become a poor player. He has not. His body of work, from stepping into the role after Scott Brown to becoming the focal point under Ange Postecoglou, stands up to any scrutiny. He has carried this club through big transitions.
But this team is asking different questions of him, and he is answering them cautiously.
You’re seeing it week after week. McGregor collects the ball deep, drives the team over the halfway line, and then the move slows. The forward pass into space is there for a split second, then gone. Instead, it goes square. Then back. The opposition resets, we lose their edge, and suddenly the next pass is coming from a centre half under pressure rather than a midfielder in control.
Part of it is what sits ahead of him. There is less trust in movement, less certainty in where runs will go. That hesitation spreads. Midfield stops taking risks because it is not convinced those risks will be rewarded.
Part of it is the shift in emphasis. Under Brendan Rodgers, control of the ball has always been a priority. What Celtic are showing now is something less defined. They want to move it quicker, but without the structure that makes quick football effective. McGregor ends up caught between two ideas, and the default becomes the safer option.
That safety is making games difficult to watch and teams harder to kill off.
With four games left, they sit behind Hearts and only just ahead of Rangers. There is no space for controlled, tidy dominance that never quite turns into chances. These games will turn on moments where someone decides to force the issue.
McGregor is still doing the captain’s work. He is talking constantly, organising, demanding standards. When Celtic lose shape, he is the one pulling it back together. That has real value.
But Celtic do not need him to steady games now. They need him to tilt them.
There are signs he has the tools around him to do it. Daizen Maeda is starting to scare defences again, making the kind of direct runs that change the picture in seconds. Those runs need early passes, not recycled possession. They need a midfielder willing to trust what he sees and release the ball before the defence is set.
McGregor has made that pass countless times in his career. That is why the hesitation stands out.
If there is a physical issue in the background, it may explain the reluctance to fully commit. But the reality on the pitch is simpler. Celtic’s attacks are slowing at the exact point they need to accelerate.
This title will not be decided by who keeps the ball best in their own half. It will be decided by who moves it forward with conviction when the moment appears.
Celtic’s captain knows that better than anyone.
Now he has to show it again. Hibs, Rangers, Motherwell and Hearts lie ahead. If Celtic are to win this title, we need bravery.
In the immortal words of his former boss Ange Postecoglou “Stop passing it f***ing back!”
