Callum McGregor has stated that Celtic still need to strengthen before the transfer window shuts in less than a week.
McGregor said the players need to take full responsibility for losing a four-goal lead within an hour as the Hoops crashed out of yet another Champions League qualifying stage on Tuesday night.
Another season in the Europa League is on the horizon, and quality is still paramount in the summer window. McGregor has addressed this.
A backline of Anthony Ralston, Dane Murray, Auston Trusty, and Liam Scales finished the tie in Austria. That alone shows that reinforcements are needed. Cameron Carter-Vickers and Kieran Tierney being forced off through injury was no real surprise, but there weren’t any new faces to replace them.
Perhaps Celtic will revise their centre-back plans before deadline day.
McGregor mentioned the left-back situation, but slightly backtracked on his comment to ensure he wasn’t out to throw any of his teammates under the bus. Speaking to BBC Sport, he said:
“I think we signed well. I think potentially when you look at the team that finished the game, Liam Scales playing at left-back etc, there are still little bits that we do need to move forward.
“I’m not trying to pin the blame on anyone else because this is a game where we’re 3-0 up, we go 4-0 up in the tie.
“So by no means is this me then saying, ‘Oh we need a left back’, that’s not the case. But of course every squad wants to be as strong as they can and have cover and good players in every position who are always pushing each other.”
McGregor wasn’t trying to call Scales out publicly, and he quickly realised how his first comment sounded. But his words remain true. These were Celtic’s biggest games of the season, and yet the personnel looked underprepared.
The current crop bears much of the blame; to be four goals ahead and lose is indefensible, and the substitutions barely screamed inspiration.
Chelsea’s Landon Emenalo is reportedly due to arrive as cover for Kieran Tierney. The 18-year-old suffered a knock in training with his current club, and a deal could not be done before the squad deadline for the play-off first leg. The injury has delayed any apparent announcement and fans are wondering if it will even arrive.
It raises questions as to why there were not other targets lined up and ready to be included as cover for Tierney, who eventually needed it.
That’s before even mentioning the right-back situation. Colby Donovan was also forced off through injury, and with Alistair Johnston already ruled out for two months, that is an area that badly needs to be addressed.
With the Europa League beginning in less than a month, and the transfer window closing on September 3, there is no excuse not to bring in reinforcements. This squad badly needs new blood, and McGregor knows it.
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